Inside: Plans are good and necessary. But when life throws us for a loop or we find ourselves in the middle of a stretching season, it helps to remember we are sailing under sealed orders. ~

My daughter Molly is planner. When she’s packing for a vacation, she makes multiple lists and checks them twice. She anticipates every eventuality. If the other members of the family forget something, we automatically turn to her because we know she probably has exactly what we need in her suitcase.

While I have never listed individual pairs of socks on a packing list, I can relate to Molly’s penchant for planning. I like charts and to-do lists. I like to be prepared, well in advance. I like to know what’s coming and what to expect.

This approach is helpful when it comes to getting ready for a big trip or some other expected life event. It certainly made life easier decades ago when we were assembling paperwork for our international adoptions, not to mention each time we went to China to get our daughters.

The Problem

That said, this way of doing things can easily morph into rigidity and inflexibility. We can get so used to having everything planned out that adjusting when those plans change suddenly is extremely stressful, maybe even impossible.

This was certainly true for me, until God accelerated His divine work of stretching in my life.

Helping my parents in the last years of their lives taught me what it means to drop and roll—to drop what I’m doing and roll with whatever needs to happen next, that is. It wasn’t easy, and I am still a work in progress. But I’m much more comfortable with not knowing what’s around the next corner, with taking things as they come.

A Naval Analogy

What happened during that season reminds me of a military practice I heard of once called “sailing under sealed orders.”

Before leaving port, the captain of a ship receives an envelope containing a specific set of latitude and longitude coordinates. The ship sails to this spot in the ocean, and then the captain radios the commander for the next set of coordinates. Neither he nor his crew has any idea where they are going. They simply follow orders from point to point until they reach their final destination.

Sound familiar? We might not be sailing Navy ships across a deep blue sea, but spiritually speaking, we’re definitely sailing under sealed orders. As much as we may like to plan the journey of our lives from start to finish—or at least from middle to old age—that job ultimately belongs to Someone else.

It’s true, what the Book of Proverbs says. “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps” (16:19). And, “We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.” (16:33, NLT)

God is Faithful

Sailing under sealed orders is no longer military theory to me; it’s become real life. And what I’m learning, as I go from one set of coordinates to another, is that God is faithful.

He is infinitely trustworthy. He has a plan for each of us that is far more intricate and complex than our finite minds could ever comprehend.

Even when we think we’re acting in the best interests of others, our plans are sometimes self motivated and self serving. But God’s plans are perfect. If they were not, they would contradict His very character.

Every piece fits together. Every hurt, every pain, every delay and every setback has a place and a purpose.

God doesn’t require us to understand all this, as if that were even humanly possible. He simply asks that we trust Him for the next step.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.