Know God’s Plans Are Better Than Yours, Even If You Think Otherwise

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(14) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (15) And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.’ (1 John 5:14-15); ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.’ (Romans 8:28)

The feud between President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, erupting publicly this week, has been equally shocking and disturbing, though in retrospect, should not be a surprise.  The ‘most powerful man on Earth’ (President Trump) and the ‘most-richest man on Earth’ (Musk) both have big egos, believe in themselves and their abilities (to the point of profound narcissism), and believe – thanks to their track record of success – that they are correct in their line of thought and decision-making.  So, they are both top-shelf ‘alpha’ males who find themselves fighting for ‘king of the hill’ status after collaborating with each other in a truce for a short time.

Both have their plans and agenda for the direction of the government and the nation.  Both appeared to be on the same page of the script, but then the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, or ‘BBB’ seemed to derail their collaboration.  The ‘BBB’ for Trump seems to codify some of his desired changes to move the nation forward, but it does not include any cutting of the wasteful and fraudulent spending found by the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.  Trump wants the ‘BBB’ passed and is rallying support for it; Musk wants the ‘BBB’ tossed and is rallying support against it. 

Trump, rightfully so as the President, would rather his team have these squabbles behind closed doors, but when the doors are opened there is unanimity in the public eye.  As a former manager, I encouraged debate and opposing viewpoints in meetings with the folks I led (and many ideas were colorfully described negatively at times) but once a decision was made to move forward with, I expected complete compliance and any dissent kept quiet when the meeting ended. 

Criticism and disagreements are perfectly fine and objections are welcome, but they should not be done in a public forum but in a face-to-face dialogue, to promote professionalism and confidence.  Unfortunately, Musk took his disagreements public though Musk’s position on the ‘BBB’ is in my humble opinion correct (the cuts should be implemented now and not later), and he is looking (and acting) more like the petulant child who didn’t get his way and is taking the fit, more so than Trump.

We elected Trump, not Musk, to run the country, and though I may disagree with his reasoning behind the ‘BBB’, I also recognize I may not see all the moving pieces of why this approach is being taken.  Trump’s plan may be a better path to a smooth landing; admittedly any substantial cuts and holding or lowering the debt ceiling runs the risk of a recession or even a national default, which will cause great pain for most Americans.  While I think most of the DOGE-offered cuts would be good (and should be done), they may in a ‘phase two’ portion of a plan that Trump has yet to share.  Musk is upset over what he perceives, but does not yet know.

This approach is, much to our chagrin, often found in our relationship with God.  There are times, if we are honest, when we may want to take a certain direction or move down a certain path but God says, in His divine ways, ‘No’ or ‘Not yet’.  We see the path that we want to take as enriching and beneficial to us; why wouldn’t God want us to take this path?  We even pray that the Lord should bless us and open up this path, but then become disappointed, perhaps disillusioned when the roadblocks aren’t moved and we end up having to give up on that idea and stay on the path God has us on, though it seems at first unrewarding.  We get upset over what we perceive as unrewarding, but we don’t know what God has in store for us.

If our request is within God’s plans for us and His people, and within obedience of His Word, it will be done, per 1 John 5:14-15.  God will not deny us in having our way if it is within the bounds of His precepts and plans.  I once prayed for an opportunity for a particular position in Huntsville when I was working, that would have taken me and my family away from southwest Florida.  It fit my plans of upward mobility within the company and would have been a big feather in the cap for me, but it never materialized. 

I later had an opportunity for a promotion if I moved to Germany, that checked almost every box for my career.  But when I prayed for the Lord’s blessing, He came back with a profound and resounding ‘NO’.  I turned down the position, and never again had an opportunity to leap forward in my career as these opportunities would have provided.

I was disappointed, and admittedly asked the Lord why He didn’t provide me the means to move into them.  But if I did, I wouldn’t have received the better blessings of being with my mother at the end of her life, and in growing in Faith staying in southwest Florida, and the gift of writing this blog for the church.  As Romans 8:28 states, not for my benefit should anything be done, but for the Lord’s glory and benefit should I strive to accomplish.  He knew His calling for me would not have been fulfilled had I acted in my own accord.  I now see that God was right all along, and had I acted out of self and impulse my rewards would have been muted and perhaps bittersweet.

God’s plans are different than our plans.  There may be a purpose, other than our perceived thoughts, that God has laid out.  Jonah is an example of this; he hated the Ninevites and wanted nothing to do with them.  He wanted to go on a Mediterranean vacation instead, but God wanted him in Ninevah.  One storm, one big fish, one launch from the fish’s belching, and one trip from the beaches of Israel to Ninevah later, and he’s preaching God’s Word to the Ninevites, who repent to God. 

Jonah portrayed someone who was unwilling, before and after, and he suffered for it, yet it is hoped he saw later what God’s plan was for him, and how it succeeded.  (Learning from Jonah, I am always willing to follow the Lord as I do not want to spend time in a fish, or have my bald dome scorched by the sun.)  We may not see it as it happens; we all have those ‘why me, Lord?’ moments, but trust in the Lord and trust in His plans that it is for good and for His purpose!