Are you a planner? Are there certain things that you feel you need to do in a particular order? Do you put together a plan regarding how things are going to work out through the day? I think part of that is normal, but boy can things easily get out of hand. I am a very structured person. A person of habit. I plan everything. Even on vacation, I plan what we are going to do on what day and at what time. My fiancee knows that about me and she follows along.
The bad part thought is that when things don’t go as planned (at least as I had planned in my head) then I get irritated. Like, really irritated. I can get myself into a major fit. Does that sound like you?
The problem is that the plan we put together in our heads isn’t always reasonable. I mean, when I’m planning, the plan I have in my head is great! The plan is awesome! It’s totally going to come together exactly as I think it will. Yeah right. It will always come together perfectly. And on what planet would that be?
It occurs to me that planning our day may not always be in our best interest in some ways. Let me explain. When we have our day planned just so, we expect things to fall into place. When we plan to go to the store to get mac and cheese, we expect them to have the brand we’re after. When we to to the beach over a vacation we plan for the weather to be good. When we leave to go somewhere we plan for the traffic to be clear. Then things come unglued. How can they POSSIBLY be out of Kraft mac and cheese? How DARE it rain while we are at the beach. All week! How can anyone POSSIBLY slow down THAT much just because there’s a car pulled over so someone can fix a flat tire! What if more than one of our plans fall apart in a given day? One thing right after another. People say when it rains it pours.
We want our days to be free from rain but sometimes it rains on our parade. Maybe we expected too much from the day. Maybe we set our goals too high. Maybe we just weren’t meant to be allowed to accomplish things. Those rough days can really test us. The enemy uses those days to try to draw us to his darkness and away from God’s light. The enemy uses those days to try to find chinks in the Armor of God we wear into which he can slide those sharp claws that can hurt us so much.
So put on your Armor of God. Pray. Don’t let your well thought out plans drown you when it rains. Live through the trials. Let the rain grow your faith. When all seems so horrible when it rains on your parade make sure that the parade continues regardless. Put up God’s Umbrella and march forward.
Recommended Reading: Ephesians 6:11-17
