The best part of a book is the unexpected twist.
If a book never had a plot change or caught you off guard it wouldn’t be as fun to read. It’s more exciting when a character is added or eliminated, it’s fun to see the author take a different direction and there is a pleasing shock that comes from not expecting the ending.
But we can be honest — when that plot change happens in our lives we aren’t usually as thrilled. We don’t like unexpected changes and when we have to sail uncharted courses it’s easy to feel scared and lost. There is something about uncertainty that we don’t enjoy in our own lives. We need to see the plans and know exactly where the path is going to lead us. We want to know the end of the story before we even begin. We long to know every bump, twist and turn before we start the course.
But we have to remember that God always has a plan. He has already been where’s He is wanting to take us. He wouldn’t simply guide us off the trail and then let go off our hands, He is there next to us every step off the way. While it’s not always easy to embrace this fact, we have to take comfort that if we are letting God take control of our lives we don’t need to see the path. He has walked that road already and has chosen it for us. He trusts each of us to take the path He has carved, as daunting as the unfamiliarity may be. The author of our story already knows the end, so we don’t have to, we get to just enjoy the twists.
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.”
{Psalm 37:23}
Our steps have been ordered, they have already been chosen. By God. We can fight against every step, or we can simply trust that His plan is always better than ours. We have to push the loud voices of fear and uncertainty to the side and listen for Him. We have to hold His hand a little tighter and know that He’s not leaving us.
Just as a book is only exciting with twists and turns, I believe that at the end of our story we will be entertained with our unexpected routes if we lean on Him and let Him lead.