Our Plans Are Many … But God

            I recently watched the movie, “One night with the king,” the story of queen Esther in the Bible. It was not the first time I had watched this movie but I enjoyed it just as much as if I was seeing it for the first time. As much as I love the storyline and the “happy ending” that seems to be portrayed, I can’t help but consider that this young Jewish girl, before her "happy ending" even came about, had her world turned upside down.
            First, she was ripped away from the comfort of her home and sent with many other young maidens to the palace where they would all be prepared to possibly become the new queen. They all, I’m sure, had their own plans and hopes for their future but all these were dashed as they were “kidnapped” and taken to the palace. Hopes of pursuing their personal goals and dreams all came to an end for, even if they were not chosen by the king to be his new queen, they would not get to return home but would become one of the king’s concubines. 
            However, the favour of God was upon Esther and she was chosen to be the new queen. She would now live a life of relative luxury and ease … or would she? The story does not end here on this fairytale, happy note. You see, with God there is always a bigger picture. We can presume that everyone had their own plans, goals and dreams that they wanted to pursue, especially Esther. Everyone had a picture of their possible future in their minds. But God had a purpose for everything that happened, especially the negative ones. What Esther and the Jews did not know was that there was a plot in the making to annihilate them. God therefore orchestrated everything to bring about His people’s deliverance. With a Jew as queen, she could go on to petition the king for the lives of her people. Yes, with God there is always a bigger picture.
            We can parallel this story with our situation today. One of the thoughts that comes most poignantly to my mind is the fact that just about everyone had plans, goals or dreams for this year 2020. But all of a sudden with the appearance of one virus, some of us are not even sure if our dreams and plans would be realized and, if they are, we are not sure when they would become a reality because the dates and times we had set don’t seem so realistic anymore.
              I’m reminded of the verse in Proverbs 19:21 which says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (New International Version) This pandemic has made me realize that we can plan how much we want but God has the final say. Our plans and dreams in and of themselves may not be bad, but as I said before, with God there is always a bigger picture. There are bigger, greater things He wants to accomplish and sometimes we just have to put aside our dreams, even if for a moment, for a greater purpose. 
            Let’s be real, there are persons who need to get saved and this global pandemic may be just the thing to motivate them in that direction; there are those who have backslidden away from God and this situation may be what is needed to get them back on the right track with their heavenly Father; there are married couples and families that may need this time of restriction and confinement to finally start spending quality time together and thus strengthen the family unit; and maybe sadly, we as the church have lost our focus and God has had to use this to help us refocus on Him and His desires for us.
            God has never made a bad choice in His life. He sees and knows all things and He does care. So, maybe besides the normal prayers asking God to heal and to bring this season to an end as quickly as possible, let’s add another prayer to that: “God what are you saying to me in this season? What do You want me to do for You?” And when you add praise and thanksgiving to that what you’re really saying is: “God I don’t understand or like what is happening, but I trust You. I trust that You see, You know, You care and that You are working out what is best for me as well as  everyone else.” 

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