The Master Planner

O Lord, you are my God;
  I will exalt you and praise your name,
 for in perfect faithfulness
 you have done marvelous things,
 things planned long ago. (Psalm 25:1)

I am a planner. You will rarely find me without my trusty little companion which I dote over, painstakingly planning the days and weeks ahead like a master chess player strategizing each move in a championship game.

It’s no surprise then when I see my day unravel, like a stray ball of yarn discovered and enjoyed by a playful kitten, I get a bit miffed. This is one of the reasons it brings me great comfort and peace to remember that my God is the one who is The Master Planner. He is not surprised nor taken aback by the unraveling of my day.

He does not get angry at mischievous kittens or unraveled yarn balls. He does not take pleasure in disturbing my peace, unless the peace I am seeking is a peace that comes apart from Him. A peace that seeks to usurp His purpose and plan for my days and comes from the hand of flesh. A worldly peace or a false god. In one single word: idol.

This is what the Lord says:  Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
 who depends on flesh for his strength
 and whose heart turns away from the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:5)

The one who is The Master Planner is also the one who brings peace and who is Peace itself. When I start counting on the plans I have made, my peace is in danger. When my confidence begins to depend on the outcome of my plans, I am headed for trouble.

When I start to look longer at my planning pages than longingly gazing into the eyes of my beloved, the one who loves me and knows the beginning from the end, who holds my days and plans firmly in His grasp, I am missing out on my life’s true purpose.

So what’s a girl to do? Do I throw away that precious, portable partner that travels with me everywhere, capturing my plans, thoughts, goals and ideas? I think not. But I purpose to plan my days prayerfully, with The Master Planner by my side. I am learning that as I surrender my plans and days to Him and trust Him who is my peace for every moment planned, and especially for the ones that are unplanned, my peace and confidence is rightly placed. My miff factor is actually decreased and the sweet little kitten that messes with my yarn, well I can laugh and roll with that, too.

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
 whose confidence is in him. (Jeremiah 17:7
)

For he himself is our peace…(Ephesians 2:14)

Dawn Paoletta is a writer who is finally coming out of the closet and following her dream to share her life lessons and insights with anyone who will listen. Recently laid up with a muscular injury has temporarily curtailed her career in fitness allowing her the golden opportunity needed to reorder her priorities and shift her focus to blogging her greatest passions: Living out her faith as a modern day disciple of Jesus Christ and enjoying spending time with her husband, daughter and family pets. She likes to serve up spiritual lessons learned with authenticity, grace and truth. You can find Dawn at Beneath the Surface: Breath of Faith and Fitness For The Fainthearted.

(photo credit)

11 Responses to The Master Planner
  1. Susie Klein
    September 29, 2012 | 10:27 pm

    This is so very wonderful Dawn! True words lovingly expressed! I am jealous of your self-dicsipline to write these wonderful pieces so often and so well!
    Bravo!

    • Dawn
      September 29, 2012 | 10:33 pm

      Thank you Susie. You know I know, really it is Him in me. Anything worth sharing. Any wisdom that shines. Freely He gives it and I am grateful to share it.

  2. Rosann
    September 30, 2012 | 6:02 am

    This speaks so powerfully to me as I embark on a journey of getting my life back in order. Thank you for an important reminder to seek God’s wisdom as I put a plan together that’s most glorifying to Him.

    • Dawn
      September 30, 2012 | 6:45 am

      May you enjoy His perfect peace as you walk by faith on that journey. Praying it comes together perfectly from His perspective. 😉

  3. Debbie
    September 30, 2012 | 6:17 am

    Dawn, I completely relate to your comment that God ‘does not take pleasure in disturbing my peace, unless the peace I am seeking is a peace that comes apart from Him.’ Exactly where my life is right now. Oh, how I seek to know His will so I can enjoy His peace…

  4. Kimberly
    September 30, 2012 | 6:24 am

    I confess, I am not too good about planning or making lists. But I am still quite familiar with the feelings of being miffed at what plans I do have unraveling before my very eyes. It is always good to be reminded we can trust in the Lord, no matter what comes our way.

    Learning to roll with things more myself,
    K 🙂

    • Dawn
      September 30, 2012 | 6:47 am

      The learning to roll is a grace gift, I think! I am grateful He is patient with us as we learn! 😉

  5. Chelsea
    September 30, 2012 | 6:45 pm

    I totally agree with this. I, too, often get caught up in planning my life, but as I look back on my life, nothing has gone my way….and that’s okay. Like you said, God is my Master Planner and He knows what is best for me. I love this….”When I start to look longer at my planning pages than longingly gazing into the eyes of my beloved, the one who loves me and knows the beginning from the end, who holds my days and plans firmly in His grasp, I am missing out on my life’s true purpose.” Beautifully written! Thanks for sharing & many blessings 🙂

  6. Janet
    September 30, 2012 | 9:19 pm

    Amen! Love this!!!

  7. Nikki
    October 2, 2012 | 1:59 pm

    So thrilled to see you here, Dawn! Your words blessed me as always. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately…as I’ve been reflecting on how easily children grasp eternity. and it hit me: they don’t live their lives by the clock…
    anyway. You gave me more to ponder. thank you, friend!

  8. James
    August 29, 2017 | 8:33 am

    Just thought to let you know the scripture reference at the beginning of your post should be Isaiah 25:1 (NIV) and not Psalms.