The Plan

By, Joela Diaz

Please help me, Lord. I feel nothing is going to go right. Help me trust in You and Your power and planning. 
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That entry was from February 2017. Spoiler alert: everything went right–in ways I didn’t expect. 

While preparing for college applications, I constantly worried I’d choose the wrong major and college. There’s so much pressure throughout high school to get the plan right, because if not, we think it’ll disrupt the trajectory of the rest of our lives.  

I’ve learned we aren’t meant to figure out the details of our life plans. God promises, “For I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Perhaps you’ve heard this promise so often you’ve forgotten its comfort. When we meditate on these words, we see that we don’t have to carry the burden of “figuring out our lives.” 

Throughout my college application process, I asked God for peace, direction, and clarity. I dreamed of going to Emerson College or perhaps Rutgers University. William Paterson University was last on my list of contenders, yet during my campus tour, I sensed a peace that WPU was where I belonged. So I submitted my application and was accepted.  

If the tour wasn’t enough confirmation, WPU was the only school that offered me scholarships that covered nearly 100% of my tuition. If I had written my college plan, it would have looked very different, but it wouldn’t have turned out nearly as wonderful.
I believe that in every season where we ask God to guide us and write our story, He will answer and work all things together for good. When I look back at my journal entries, I realize I stressed so much over things God had control over. All I had to do was listen for His voice, and the same proves true now.
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What about you? Are there any decisions you need to make that are making you anxious? I encourage you to give it to God in prayer. Even if He doesn’t answer right away, He promises to sustain you.

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22)

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