Make the Plan, Then Hold It Loosely

November has a particular feel on a college campus. The leaves may not change here the way they do elsewhere, but something else does. Midterms are behind you, finals are somewhere ahead, and suddenly people start asking about next semester. What are you majoring in? Where are you applying? What are you doing after graduation? Everyone seems to have a plan, or at least a confident answer, and if you do not, it can feel like you are the only one standing still while everyone else is sprinting.

Here is what I love about this verse. It does not tell you to stop planning. It says humans plan their course in their hearts, and it says this without a hint of disapproval. God made you with a mind that dreams ahead and a heart that wants something. Your plans are not the enemy. But the verse also does not say your plan is the final word. The Lord establishes the steps. Notice the difference between a course and a step. A course is the whole map, drawn from far away. A step is the one place your foot lands today. God seems far more interested in the step than we are, and far more able to handle the map than we are.

Think about Joseph. His plan, if he had one, probably involved growing up in his father's house with a coat that made him feel special. Instead his steps led through a pit, a slave market, a false accusation, and a prison cell. Not one of those steps was on his map. Yet years later he stood before his brothers and said that what they meant for evil, God meant for good. Joseph could only say that looking backward. While he was in the pit, it just felt like the plan had collapsed. Calling rarely announces itself in advance. More often it is recognized afterward, when you look back and see a path that was somehow being laid under your feet the whole time.

So this week, try holding your plans with an open hand instead of a clenched fist. Make the plan. Write it down. Work hard at it. And then tell God honestly, "This is what I am hoping for, but I trust you with the steps." Ask yourself a smaller question than "What is my whole life for?" Ask, "What is the faithful next step in front of me today?" Maybe it is finishing a paper well, sending that email, showing up for a friend who is struggling, or saying yes to a small opportunity that scares you a little. You do not have to see the whole road. You only have to trust the One who is already walking it ahead of you.