Strategic Planning Month
God’s Plans Are Always Better
Developed by Pastor Trevor M. Crenshaw
Welcome to this month’s Pastor’s Corner. I am overjoyed to share a few thoughts with you. For the 2025 Strategic Planning Month, I would like to share something we all grapple with: the clash between our own carefully laid plans and the surprising, sometimes bewildering, path God sets before us.
Most people are, by nature, planners. They sketch out their careers, budget for their futures, envision their ideal families, and set goals for their spiritual growth. There’s nothing wrong with this (I do it all the time). However, in Proverbs 15:22, the writer tells us that “without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” But what happens when our plans—those beautiful, detailed blueprints we’ve drawn up—are suddenly derailed? A job offer falls through, a relationship ends unexpectedly, or a health crisis changes everything. In those moments, it can be easy to feel lost, frustrated, and even forgotten. We wonder, “Why, Lord? I thought this was the way.”
It reminds me of a young man named Daniel. He was a gifted musician, and his dream was to attend a prestigious music school in a big city. He practiced relentlessly, earned top grades, and dedicated his life to this singular goal. He applied to his dream school, and after a grueling audition process, he was put on a pending status. He was devastated. He had poured his heart and soul into this, and it felt like God had slammed the door in his face. All his carefully constructed plans were in tatters.
Dejected, Daniel decided to attend a small, local university to study music. It wasn’t his dream, but it was a place to start. A few weeks into the semester, he was invited by a friend to help lead worship at a new, young church plant. He was reluctant at first, but something about the small, authentic community drew him in. As he began to serve, he discovered a new dimension to his gift. He wasn’t just playing music; he was leading people into the presence of God. The music wasn’t about applause or prestige; it was about ministry. He found a profound joy and purpose he hadn’t anticipated.
A few years later, that small church grew exponentially, and Daniel was a full-time worship pastor. He reflected on his journey and realized that if he had gotten into his dream school, he likely would have been consumed by the competitive, performance-driven world of professional music, and he might have never discovered the deep, satisfying calling of ministry. His plan was for a career; God’s plan was for a calling.
This story beautifully illustrates the truth found in Proverbs 19:21: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” This simple verse carries profound weight. It doesn’t say our plans are irrelevant; it says they are secondary to God’s ultimate purpose. The Hebrew word for “purpose” here, ‘etsah, speaks of a divine counsel or deliberate design. It is God’s sovereign will—His perfect, unchangeable counsel—that will ultimately stand.
The implications of this are immense. First, it means we can rest in the sovereignty of God. We don’t have to panic when our life doesn’t follow our script. We can trust that God is at work, even when it feels like nothing is working. Our circumstances or our limited perspective do not limit His vision. He sees the end from the beginning, and His plans are always for our ultimate good and His glory.
Second, it calls us to a posture of surrender. This position is perhaps the hardest part. It requires us to hold our plans with open hands, not with a clenched fist. It means praying not just for our desires, but for God’s will to be done. It’s the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). This surrender is not a sign of weakness; it is an act of profound faith.
The main lesson for us today is this: God’s plans are always better than ours. Our plans are born of limited knowledge, finite vision, and often, selfish ambition. God’s plans are born of perfect love, infinite wisdom, and a desire to see us flourish in ways we can’t even imagine. The path may not look the way we envisioned. It might involve detours, setbacks, and unexpected turns. But if we trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, He will make our paths straight.
Let us be like Daniel, willing to embrace the unexpected detours that lead us to a deeper, more meaningful life in Christ. Let us release our grip on our own agendas and open our hearts to the glorious, purposeful, and infinitely better plans of our Heavenly Father.