When God Has Other Plans

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’’”  (Exodus 14:1-3 ESV)

The Egyptian army was behind them. The Red Sea before them.

God’s plan to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule and slavery did not always make sense to His people.

After ten plagues, blood instead of water, fleas, frogs, boils and their entire eco-system turned upside down, Egypt was a wasteland. When the last plague killed every eldest son, the Egyptians could hardly wait to rid themselves of the Israelites. 

But God led the Israelites into a trap where they could neither go forward nor backward.

“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.’ And they did so.” (Exodus 14:4 ESV)

While the Israelites saw no way of escape, God had another plan. Unseeable and glorious.

I too have stood at pathways incongruent and wondered how I got there, and how to get out. I’ve wrestled in my tunnel that had no end as I sat beside a hospital bed, when finances dwindled, or a relationship soured. I have chafed under a plan I couldn’t understand, and in my despair, I’ve recognized a Father perfect in everything He does.

Much like the Israelites sandwiched between slices of certain death, life with its seasons and changes leads us many times to stand in difficult forks. Desperate we search for quick fixes, something to calm our spirits and solve our problems, to bring freedom from the trap in which we stand. But often, the bandages we apply actually short circuit the greater work God wants to do.

Because it is in those difficult places God demonstrates what we would never have known otherwise. In desperate places we learn that sometimes God has other plans. And it is often in God’s other plans we discover the truths of character and find Him infinitely Good.In desperate places we discover God has other plans. Share on X

It is in that space of letting go of our own way that God builds our trust in Him above all else. In-between the prayer and God’s answer He strengthens weak hearts. He pours the balm of grace and mercy into our wounds. And sometimes when there seems no answer, He teaches us to wait in hope. For one day we will see Jesus face to face, and the torment of our present trials will either make sense or they won’t matter. We will be with Him. And what can possibly compare?

The Israelites turned against Moses, they whined and complained. They figured it would have been better to die in their Egyptian slavery than in the wilderness. They didn’t have eyes of faith to believe that although they couldn’t see it, God had another plan. They forgot His miracles. They didn’t trust His promises. 

But God was about to display His decisive power. It would be something they would tell their children, and their children would tell their children, and on and on. It would build faith for centuries and millennia. 

The seas opened. An entire nation of people walked through on dry land. God conquered the enemy. 

I look for a path through the seas now, when I stand at the water’s edge, yet can’t quite see to the other side. I want to stand firm like an 80-year-old Moses with a staff held high in his hand. Regardless of outcomes, I want to trust God to part the waters with His perfect plan.   

God’s other plans lead us to deeper faith which proves Him in little everyday trials as well as the ones so difficult they steal our breath away. Years behind testify His plans are best. Waters ahead promise again and again God’s plan is greater than my vision.

“Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” (2 Timothy 1:9 ESV)

He maps what I can’t imagine with purposes bigger than deep seas and longer than thousands of timelines. 

It is good to stand here on flat dirt, with years and experience chasing some of my old ambitions to dust, while ahead…oh who knows the miracles which still wait ahead.