10 Verses For When Life Isn't Going According To Plan

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

I’m not going to lie. I’m a pretty directionally challenged person. If it were not for the navigation apps on my phone, I would be doomed if I had to drive to anywhere unfamiliar. But what I really love about navigation apps is that they give me a lot of details.

As soon as I put my destination into the app, it tells me the fastest way to get there. It tells me how many miles the trip is (so I make sure I have enough gas to get there). It tells me what my arrival time will be. And it tells me when there’s traffic. Basically, I like that it tells me everything I need to know about my trip before I even start it.

Don’t you wish life had a navigation app? I know I do. I wish there was a way I knew exactly what the journey ahead was going to look like. I wish I knew all the details. I wish I knew when I was going to hit bumps in the road or when I was going to have to take a detour. But unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way.

Probably the most consistent lesson the Lord has continued to teach me in my relationship with Him is that as much as I try to plan my life and figure out all of the details ahead of time, that’s just not the way things work. I’m not in control. And life isn’t always going to go according to plan. In fact, life rarely seems to line up with my plan.

So if you find yourself in a place today where life looks different than you expected, your plans aren’t working out the way you thought they would, or your desire for all of your journey’s details to be given up front isn’t met, I hope the verses below will be an encouragement to you. I pray that they will remind you that God’s plans are trustworthy, that He is faithful in all circumstances, that He keeps His promises, and that He is good, even when life doesn’t go according to plan.

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Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. - Psalm 25:4-5

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. - Psalm 130:5

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. - Psalm 27:13-14

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. - Psalm 37:4-7

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. - Micah 7:7

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. - Philippians 4:8

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? - Numbers 23:19

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. - Psalm 62:8

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. - Proverbs 3:5-6