Have you ever had a day all mapped out, and THEN something happens causing you to totally change your plans? Yesterday morning was such a day. I woke up early because I had a busy day ahead of me. Unfortunately, since I was not feeling well, my busy day had to be totally rearranged!

As I was making the call to my boss to inform him that I would not be in, my only thought was on how could I rearrange my already busy schedule for the week to address all that I would not get done today. Suddenly, I recalled a famous quote by Robert Burns --- "the best-laid plans of mice and men go awry." My day had surely gone awry!!!

Today's verse tells us that man has MANY plans for his life, BUT God holds the ultimate plan for our lives in His hands. In fact, Psalm 37:23-24 promises "If the Lord is pleased with the way a man lives, He makes his steps secure. Even if the man trips, he won't fall. The Lord's hand takes good care of him."

Sadly, we often forget that God is in control. We just forge ahead and plan out our lives without going to Him in prayer --- seeking His wisdom --- asking Him for direction. We become like the driver who refuses to stop for directions resulting in losing much precious time going in circles Or sometimes ending up on a dead-end street. To "stop and ask" acknowledges to Him that we know that His plans for our lives are good plans --- plans to prosper us and not to harm us --- plans to give us hope and a future!

My challenge to you today is to always hold on to Romans 8:28 when things are just not going as you planned ---- "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Keep in mind that God bases His plans on the eternal picture....whereas, we can only base our plans on our limited knowledge of the present and what we see as the future.