THE PLAN: November 20, 2025
By the Rev. Dr. Dennis E. Morey
Pastor, Faith Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids, IA
The golfer stood above the ball, which rested on the tee. He stared down at the ball. Glancing momentarily at his grip, he began his back swing and then stopped. He couldn’t think of what to do next.
She picked up the phone as she had a thousand times and had no idea what to do with it.
Sitting in the car with the keys in his hand, he wondered what to do next.
The golfer had planned to hit the ball, the woman had planned to make a phone call, and the man had planned to go to the hardware store for plumbing supplies. There is great activity going on in the tiny vessels of our brains all the time.
When distraction interrupts that activity, plans are not completed. The intended activity is either halted or replaced with doing something else that doesn’t fit into the plan at hand. When we get stuck and don’t know what to do next, the plan cannot be completed.
Has there ever been a time in your life when you were stuck, the plan faded into the distance while something more urgent commanded your attention, and you did not know what to do next?
Doing the right thing next is an absolute necessity if the plan is to be completed. Of course, when the plan has not gone well, we can call on God and ask for guidance.
Most of us are eager to get God to fix things when we have made the wrong choices and our plans are failing. Often we are reluctant to invite God at the beginning of our planning process.
If we would spend as much time in prayer listening to God’s direction before we begin the plan as we spend in prayer when things go wrong, our plans would be sure to succeed.
How many marriages would fail if we had asked for God’s help when we were selecting a spouse? Would God lead us to the wrong person? How many careers would go sour if we asked God to show us the way? Would God have us give our time and energies to a job that doesn’t fit? Yet we suffer for our failed plans. Hearts are broken, dreams go unrealized, and lives are marked forever because we don’t consult the One who knows who we are and what we need.
Most all of us can tell a story of not knowing what to do next or of a failed plan. We don’t have to compound poor planning with more poor planning. There can be an end to that cycle if we want it. God isn’t going to say, “I told you so” as we may imagine. Instead, our God welcomes an invitation into our lives, however broken our plans may be. We can ask God for help. We can ask God for another chance. We can offer our plans to God and ask how they fit into God’s plan. When God’s plan becomes our goal, there is no limit to the peace we will experience.
If you don’t have a plan for life or your plan has failed, or maybe you can’t think of what to do next, I hope you will consult God. Tell God about your failures. God is interested in you, no matter how long the list of failed plans or not knowing what to do next in the plan. Ask God how to plan for success. A church family can be a source of support and encouragement where we can find great comfort and great courage. God has encouragement and blessings waiting for all those who will ask for that ever-available help.
See you here next week for more on The Plan.
