Sailing Under Sealed Orders

When it comes to packing for vacations, my daughter Molly is planner. She makes multiple lists and checks them twice (sometimes more). She plans for 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 spreadsheets. I like to be prepared, well in advance. As I wrote last week, 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 when we were putting together the paperwork for our international adoptions, not to mention each time we went to China to get our daughters.

The problem with this way of doing things, though, is that it can easily morph into rigidity and inflexibility. A person 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.

The last couple of years have been teaching 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 hasn’t been easy, and I am still very much a work in progress. But I’ve started to become more comfortable with not knowing what’s around the next corner, to taking things as they come.

What’s happened around here—especially since last summer—reminds me of a military practice I heard of once called “sailing under sealed orders.”

Before leaving port, the captain of a ship is given an envelope that contains 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, in my case—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)

If you had told me a year ago what parts of my daily schedule would look like now, I would have scratched my head in bewilderment. It’s not that what I do every day is so bizarre or difficult; it’s not. It’s just very different than it used to be in some pretty significant ways—ways that I never could have predicted.

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 me, for my loved ones, for the world—that is far more intricate and complex than my little brain could ever comprehend.

Even when I think I’m acting in the best interests of others, my plans are often 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.

He doesn’t require that we 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 Purposeful Faith, #TellHisStory, Coffee for Your Heart, Chasing Community, Faith on Fire, Fresh Market Friday, Faith ‘n Friends and Grace & Truth.