Making mistakes and realizing they were the plan of God

     Very few Christians actually think out of the box on a regular basis.  Trapped by our own thinking we become emotionally drained when something goes wrong and calls for change.  At least I have.  But, later on I learned that the change was God's will to bring the Gospel through that "mistake",  Knowing that all things work for good for those who love the Lord and are called for his purpose demands that we be instant in season and out of season for the hope that we have inside of us.  Simply put, we need to adapt to God's will and not the opposite.  I know of people who have schedules and appointments in their calendar for up to 3 years in the future!  What do you think happens when God changes the game plan?  Christians specifically should know that every day is a gift from God and allow God to direct our lives day by day.  That means taking life one day at a time.  If this wasn't so, why do we have that very discussion with Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount?  God likes us to plan.  He likes it even better if we listen to His plan.  Going through life looking at the mistakes you and I make is a distraction from the perfect will of God.  I'm not suggesting that all of our actions were planned by God.  I've made plenty of mistakes all by myself.  When we open our hearts, minds and souls to the direction of God anything is possible.
     Have you ever cruised past your exit and banged the steering wheel with anger and frustration?  I have.  It's not efficient to have made this mistake.  That appointment you had will definitely go on without you and maybe your job will be gone as well.  The pressures we feel put us at risk of only looking at how the "mistakes" affect our lives.  Just as you pass the off ramp, you come across an elderly man obviously struggling with a flat tire.  But you are in a hurry!  Important things need to be done, schedules need to be kept and responsibility to your family and boss loom over you.  You feel the Holy Spirit pull at your heart to stop and help.  Reluctantly you do so and find out the gentleman and his wife are going home.  He had just recovered from heart surgery and had been praying for someone to stop and help him.  Now you feel small.  The orphan, widowed and wounded have been put before you.  They are THE important moment of your life then and there.  So, you help the gentleman, shake his hand and watch them drive off.  You take yourself to your office only to learn that the meeting (like so many) had been cancelled anyway.  Mistakes can lead you to loving someone for God.
     There is a fine balance that only God can sustain in your and my lives.  It's based only on our either running our lives or running for God.  I wish I could tell you that this balance has been a constant thing in my life over the years.  That wouldn't be true.  Many times I begin the day running for myself or others instead of for God.  The cares of the world seem to captivate my every fleeting moment at times.  Add your wife, kids, church and all of a sudden you have a world regulated life instead of a life surrendered to the love of God.  That's the problem of making mistakes and not allowing them to be turned into the plan of God.  We cannot deceive ourselves to believe that the function of the world depends on my action unless that action is directed by God.  We cannot have the peace that passes all understanding unless we first rest in God so that his peace can come to us.  This is the time.  This is the hour.  Now is your chance to take a different look at the "mistakes" of your life.  You can either see the hand of God or your own hand.  Remember it's always your choice.