CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN: WHEN THINGS DON’T GO AS PLANNED.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

What do you do when things don’t go as planned? Have you ever experienced such? Have you had moments when things did not go as planned? What did you do? Leave it down in the comment below. To gain strategies to help us when things don’t go as planned, I have a scripture for you. So let’s get right into it.

The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. Matthew 1:18‭-‬19 MSG

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Here was Joseph betrothed to Mary, and before he could marry her, he discovered she was pregnant. Imagine what Joseph must have felt. Have you had things go contrary to how you had hoped they would? Can you imagine the anger and disappointment he must have felt? After all, Joseph had invested so much in the relationship. So here he was, contemplating how he would go about breaking off the engagement. And before he could do so, an angel appeared to him in a dream, telling him not to. 

Can you imagine what he must have felt? It must have disappointed him to imagine the woman he was in love with had betrayed him that much. He must have known what his wedding would look like. Maybe he had kept himself pure in anticipation of his wedding. And now here he was crushed, disappointed, and feeling betrayed.

While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”). Matthew 1:20‭-‬23 MSG

God tells him to take the role of a father over a child that wasn’t his. Joseph’s response was a very mature one. 

Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus. Matthew 1:24‭-‬25 MSG

How will you respond when God redirects you? How do you handle disappointments?

Often, as Christians, we are told how God answers our prayers and that when we believe, we shall receive what we ask for. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. God does not answer our prayers as we expect. There are times He will give us a no or shift us in different directions. And at that moment, it’s difficult to see what He is doing. Joseph had to trust what God was doing, although it made little sense. He had never heard of someone conceiving supernaturally.

Again, he might have wondered if it was an angel of God who had spoken to him or if it was his imagination. You see, until you get to the other side of the redirection and experience manifestation, it is easy to doubt. Abraham had moments where he doubted if God would bring the promise to pass until it happened. Joseph must have wondered if God would fulfill His promise to him. After all, he was in prison, and it seemed unlikely. But just because it is unlikely does not mean it is impossible.

 Sometimes we don’t get what we prayed for. Sometimes things don’t go as planned and unless we realize that that is an option too we will remain frustrated. Now that you know this, how can you learn how to handle disappointments? What lessons can you learn from the story of Joseph when things don’t go as planned?

Based on Joseph’s story, how can you handle disappointment when things don’t go as planned?

The Bible will always give you keys to handling different situations through the stories of people in it. And Joseph’s story is no exception. Here are some lessons that you can learn from him. But before we get there, I want you to realize that it is okay to be disappointed. It is okay to question whatever is happening. But you don’t have to stay stuck there.

Don’t be too quick to judge when things don’t go as planned.

Yes, things didn’t go as planned. But could it be that God is just rerouting you and not necessarily saying no? Joseph got his wife eventually but he first had to experience some delays. Can you hold on to the promise despite the delay? God can give you the answer to your prayer only wrapped differently. Will you throw away the promise because it is packaged differently? 

Just because it did not come as you expected does not mean it will not. Could it be that God wants you to see things as He sees them? After all, He says that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts.

Trust in God and believe in His goodness when things don’t go as planned.

Maybe you believe that God is Sovereign and powerful, but do you believe He is good? Can you trust He has great plans for you even when it seems like you are not getting what you prayed for? God is a good father. And that He has a Father’s heart means That He wants to give you, His child, the very best. He will withhold no good and perfect gift from you. Imagine that. You are the Child of a perfect father and He has only perfect and pure intentions for you. So again I ask, do you believe God wants you to have the very best in your life?

God will never take you through pain if He did not want to give you better. It might not feel like it as you are going through it, but He has a wonderful plan for your life. God is good and there is no shadow of shifting in Him.

God’s redirection ends up in beautiful destinations.

God might get you off track for a season. But you’ve got to trust and believe that He will get you to a beautiful destination. God’s ways are higher than your ways and so are His thoughts. His plans will always be greater than yours. He does exceedingly and abundantly and that is His nature. So if you feel like things have not worked out for you, just know that this is not the end of the story but just a chapter of your book. Although it looks confusing now, it will all make sense. God can never bring you this far to leave you here. 

Smile in the confusion and always remember that if things have not worked out for your good, you are still in the process. God promises everything works out for our good. He will work things out for your good. Trust Him. If you want to be encouraged listen to other people’s testimonies. Better yet, read the Bible and find stories of people God came through for. If He turned it around for them, He will turn it around for you too.

God knows the desires of your heart.

It is evident that Joseph loved Mary. After all, he did not want to break off the engagement publicly because he knew the repercussions. You see in the Jewish custom, both fornication and adultery were not tolerated and if one was discovered to be committing either one it meant that they had to be stoned to death. But Joseph did not want that so his aim was to break up with her quietly. Why am I telling you this? God knew Joseph loved Mary and He knew he hoped to marry Mary. God honored that. How beautiful is this, that God the creator of the universe would care about Joseph’s desire? God is not a respecter of person and what He does for one He can do for you too.

God knows that desire you have that is unfulfilled. And although He has redirected you, He will get you back on track. Hannah longed for a son and God honored that but the son who God gave her, she dedicated him back to God. So it’s almost as if she had the promise and it was taken away from her. Can you imagine that? Receiving an answer to your prayer only for it to be taken from you? But God did not leave her high and dry, He gave her other children too both female and male. What does this tell you? God will always give you double for your trouble. Though you may weep now, you will surely rejoice. So don’t be discouraged. He knows what he is doing. ( To learn more about Hannah’s story, check out my new book on Amazon: In Pursuit of Breakthrough )

Give God your yes.

Joseph did not get to have his hope fulfilled until He obeyed. Your miracle is on the other side of your obedience. What is God asking you to do? Has God given you seemingly impossible instructions? Is He asking you to take on a task that is not only difficult but uncomfortable, too? Just go ahead and give Him your yes. The beauty of following God is that He always rewards your obedience and His rewards are always greater than what you expected.

God wants you to partner with Him. He has a plan, and He also knows your desire, and He has a way to merge the two. Can you trust Him with that? He is not a dictator who only wants His way. After all, He says that you can reason with Him and state your case.

Your yes might be costly right now. But remember this: whatever you give up for God, He repays with better. Get excited because what God will do in your life will blow your mind.

God’s plan is always greater than your plan.

Yes, you might have a plan of how you want your life to go. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it so does God. He knows what He has planned for you and it will always outweigh your plans. Joseph became part of the Messiah story. God will have you do some uncomfortable things, but when you give Him your yes, He will blow your mind. He even says that He will do greater than what you expected. And even if you tried, you would never guess it. Do you think when Joseph gave God his yes? He knew he would be the father of Jesus the Messiah. Maybe he did, but obviously not in the fullness of it. God wants you to come up higher and live in the fullness of who He created you to be.

God will always exceed your expectation. The Bible tells us He does exceedingly abundantly, above and beyond anything we could ever ask, think or imagine. God will always do more than you expect. Just hold on and wait patiently. Allow Him to take you through this process. You will get to the other side. Don’t lose hope.

Conclusion.

God knows you and He created you for a purpose. Everything he has spoken about you will always come to pass. And sometimes things will not go as planned. But if you carefully look at every twist in your life, you will realize you it always led to the path God intended for you.

• Countdown to Christmas: How To Handle The Silence Of God!
• When You Feel Like Your Best Days Are Behind You
• THIS TIME, IT WILL BE DIFFERENT!
• When God’s Promises Over Your Life Get Tested
• When You Battle Feelings of Disappointment.

Maybe right now all you have are pieces to the puzzle and you can’t see the bigger picture. Just maybe your life is in chaos right now and you don’t understand what he is doing. I want to encourage you today by saying; He has it all figured out. And there is no word that He has spoken over you that will go to waste. Remember this: He is not a man that He should lie and your life is not a random event. He created you for such a time as this and it is no accident that you are where you are right now. Just trust Him. He has your life in His hand and He loves you so much.