Even with all the digital options available, I still buy a paper day planner. I take my time picking it out and choosing the right layout, including the right feel of the paper and the perfect cover to inspire me. I love sitting down with a blank calendar, armed with colored pens, highlighters and stickers. I go month-by-month, plugging in all the special days and celebrations, then all the big events and trips, then finally, meetings and deadlines. I set goals, choose a word of the year, pick a scripture of the week, make to-do lists and color-code it all … as if I have any control whatsoever what the days ahead will bring. 

Looking back at that same calendar even just a few months later may prove that the best laid plans do, in fact, often go awry. 

If you have ever stopped and looked around and thought, “How in the world did I get here?” you are not alone. What do we do when our life looks nothing like what we pictured? What is our next step when we are walking, or limping, or even crawling down a path we would rather not be on? Where is God when life does not make sense?

Disappointments in life come because of many reasons. Sometimes it is because of our own life choices—maybe we followed the wrong guidance, got stuck in a tangle of sin or just simply made the wrong decision in a situation, and it landed us somewhere we did not anticipate. But our disappointments are not a result of anything we did. We may have done everything exactly right and still, heartbreak showed up, an opportunity was lost, a loved one died, a tragedy struck, a betrayal wrecked us, a health issue knocked us off course, and now we find ourselves so far from where we thought we would be.  

You may find yourself thinking, “This is not the way things were supposed to go” or wondering when God will show up and intervene. You may have heard the saying, “If you want to make God laugh, show Him your plans.” When you are going through the worst of circumstances, riddled with disappointment and despair, it seems like such a cruel statement. Does God not care about me? About my hopes and dreams? I’m in the desert and He’s … laughing? 

It’s important to note that quote is not scripture, but a bumper sticker. Even so, when you come to know the heart of God, and start to trace His work in your life, you will know the sentiment is not that God is up there delighting in our suffering as we try and fail, but rather, that He sees so far beyond what we can see. He knows the whole of our story, where we can only see a part.  

What To Remember When Life Goes Awry 

In the middle of your unexpected, and perhaps disappointing circumstances, remember these things. 

It is okay to grieve what you thought you would have. It is normal to mourn when things seem to fall apart. It is right to be sad when you have to let go of something you hoped would be part of your future. We grieve, but as Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13, we do not grieve as others who have no hope do. We don’t let the grief of what we have lost drown us, because, even when our feelings try to convince us otherwise, we rest in the knowledge that Jesus will not leave or forsake us.

Where you are right now is not a surprise to God. The moments that have shocked you did not surprise God. He is not thrown by the things that catch us off guard. He sees the whole story, and there can be great comfort in that. Simply starting your morning praying, “Lord, you have already seen this day. Before I step into it, you know what will happen. Give me the strength I need to face it all,” can be a game-changer.

You are never so off-track that God cannot use you. You are not too far gone. You’ve not made too many mistakes. You’re not too damaged. Over and over in scripture, we see evidence of this.  God takes broken things and makes them whole. Your story is not over, and what’s more, if you trust God to make you part of His story, He will create something beautiful. Don’t let disappointment and discouragement rob you of what God has for you. Don’t let your eyes be so transfixed on your circumstances that you fail to look to Him.

Even when things aren’t good, God still is. When this world, in all its imperfections, has left you feeling hurt and lost, God is still a good God.  When life is messy and hard, the promises in God’s Word are still something to which you can cling. When your expectations remain unmet and your dreams unrealized, God is still with you. You are not alone. That is something you can plan on.