What’s the Plan?

By Shanae Godley

This has got to be my favorite question. I don’t care if I’m going to the grocery store or taking a vacation, at home or at work, the question remains the same. “What’s the Plan?” 

Lately, I’ve asked this question of God. I know, I know, many people believe that you ought to not question God, but I just want to know, “What’s the Plan?”

The uncertainty of life can be scary. It’s hard to not know the next step you’re going to take in your career. Not easy to battle a health issue without knowing when you’ll be healed. It’s challenging to show up at work every day without a vision or to take care of a loved one who appears to be coming to the end of life.

Here’s what I’m learning to do, and I hope you are learning it, too.

I’m learning to ask God, “What’s the Plan,” or better yet… “What’s His Plan?”

I am so tired of trying to come up with solutions on my own. Beating my brain against the wall for answers to questions that only God knows. It’s exhausting!

I remember growing up and hearing the statement “Man plans and God laughs.” I use to believe it meant that God was laughing in ridicule of the fact that man had the audacity to have a plan. I could imagine him talking to the angels, “Look at this child. (with sarcasm) He had the nerve to sit down and write a plan. What?! Was my plan not good enough?”

Here’s the thing, God’s plan is perfect. I think God laughs when man plans without Him. You see, according to my faith, God knows all things and already has a plan for everything that will happen. The Lord has plans to prosper us, and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

God laughs, not because man plans, but because man tried to plan without Him. I’m pretty sure that heaven has had its fair share of watching me plan without prayer.

The second thing I’ve learned to do is to actually use the plan. I know this sounds obvious, but it has taken some time for me to understand. Once I know the plan, then I must take the next step. I don’t know about you, but I never seem to get the entire plan, and for someone like me who is highly analytical and want all of the answers (and I do mean ALL of them), this resembles insanity. Why show me just part of a plan?

However, now that I have a better understanding of faith, I know that it’s not insanity. It’s principle: To (1) Ask for the plan and (2) Act on the plan. These are necessary principles for moving forward and overcoming fear in life. I hope we can all use these principles a little better as we’re trying to “figure it all out.”

When I ask God the question “What’s the Plan,” it’s my belief that His answer is will be “Take a step.”

And if you don’t believe a word I’ve said, then at least listen to it from someone more familiar. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. mandates that we “Take the first step in faith.” He said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

As I’m writing this message to you, I’m writing this message to me. Let’s put our plans to action. Let’s take the next step. Shanae Godley, MPHwww.shanaegodley.com F7: Faith to the Seventh Power