God’s Plans Are Always Different Than Mine

By Nancy Klaassen,

Initiator and Catalyst, Ottowa, IL

I have sometimes wondered why God’s plans are different than mine.   Having seen this happen quite often, I have concluded that it’s one way He lets me know that He is in control and I’m not.  It keeps me depending on Him, that’s for sure.  Some of my stories as a Q Place Initiator will demonstrate this truth that God’s plans are different, and of course better, than mine.

Several years ago, I began preparing for my first Q Place in my new neighborhood. I planned a gathering to introduce the idea of a Q Place to anyone attending.  At that first meeting, I hoped to make our plans for meeting together on a regular basis to discover truths about God as revealed in the Bible.  I prayed, planned, and invited until the evening finally arrived for our introductory meeting.  Only one person came to the door.  Her name was Clare.  Naturally, I felt disappointed and discouraged at the turnout.  This wasn’t what I had planned as I prayed about starting this group.  As Clare and I talked, though, I realized that she still wanted to study the Bible, even if it was just the two of us.  She had never studied the Bible before, and I think she actually felt more comfortable meeting one-on-one than she would have felt in a group.

A year went by, and Clare’s relationship with God grew stronger and stronger.  The time came when she and I decided to invite more people to the group.  This time I had her as my co-initiator.  Clare knew more people, as she had lived in the neighborhood for quite some time.  She and I prayed and headed out to invite others.  This time, several people attended our introductory meeting, and our group was up and running!  God had planned this all along, but when only one person came to my first meeting, I had trouble understanding what He was up to.  In retrospect, God has helped me to see why He did it this way.  Clare had grown by leaps and bounds, and now I had a co-initiator and many more people to invite.

In the last couple of years, I felt God leading me to start a Q Place at our local YMCA.  The first year that we tried, my friend Mona and I were planning to co-initiate.  We publicized with posters, on the radio, in the newspaper, and with personal invitations.  The day of our first meeting at the Y, not one person came besides the two of us.  This felt familiar.  We tried to get the group off the ground by continuing to meet there for several weeks, inviting new people each week.  Still, only one other person came.  I ended up referring her to a group in town that fit her needs better.  Mona and I stopped our efforts, and I figured the group at the Y just wasn’t going to work out.

But God had other plans.  My friend Carole, who is involved with Stonecroft Ministries, encouraged me to try again.  She said she would pray with me and help me publicize .  In the fall, we tried again; once more, not one person came.  Mona, my co-initiator, got a job and was unable to help.  I had a talk with God that night, and asked Him what was going on.  The door was open at the Y, so why weren’t people coming?  I thought this was what He wanted me to do.

That night I had a dream where I felt God was asking me to invite three other Christian friends of mine to our Q Place at the Y.  The four of us had been in a group at our church for the past two years.  I woke up from the dream and asked God, “Was that dream from You?  I thought I was supposed to invite people outside the church and far away from You.”  While I was talking to God, I decided to invite my three church-friends.  If they all said yes, we would each try to bring someone and then get the group started.  And guess what?  They all said yes.  They were interested in reaching out to others in this way!  So I brought a neighbor, and she brought a friend, and one of the co-initiators brought her Mom, and our group started!  Then God just seemed to open door after door.  Someone saw a poster at a local restaurant , and came to our group.  Another lady was swimming at the Y and she asked the lifeguard if there was a group like ours meeting there, finding out about us.  I met a friend while exercising at the Y and she came, bringing 3 friends with her.  On and on it went, and now we have eighteen people in the group!  We are studying Conversations with Jesus, an introductory study.  One member who has been far from Jesus, has begun to read her Bible and come to my church.  Another lady who is on staff at the Y began attending another local church.  A third lady started coming after backing out multiple times.  She has an atheist husband and isn’t sure what she believes herself.    Several members have been suffering with depression and they have reported that the group was an encouragement to them.

Wow!  God’s plans ARE always different than mine!  And you know what?  I’m glad!  Because His plans are much better than mine.  All I need to do is be obedient to Him, and keep praying.  He then brings about the results He wants in His time and in His way, and I don’t have to feel responsible to make it all happen.  It has taken me a while to learn, and I’m still learning, but He is in control and His plans are far above mine every time!