When plans change, God revealed

This morning, I found myself in the book of Jonah. A man running, a storm rising, and a God pursuing. It’s a story that reminds us that even in the chaos—especially in the chaos—God is at work in ways we cannot see.

Last week, I received a call from my good friend Jay, and it caught me off guard. He and his wife Catherine were supposed to be in Italy when I received the call, on a long-awaited trip, walking where Paul walked, taking in history, and enjoying time together. It was one of those trips you plan for, look forward to, and hold onto.

But on the morning they were set to leave, everything changed. An airline strike. No pilots. No way forward. Just like that, the trip was canceled. There wasn’t time to reroute or rework plans. And beyond that, there was a deeper urgency. They were on a timeline, needing to return home because their first great-grandson was due within the month.

And then, just days later, Jay called again.

Their great-grandson, Sterling, had been born—four weeks early.

Suddenly, what looked like a disruption revealed itself as divine orchestration. Because if they had been in Italy when Sterling was born, everything would have shifted again. The trip would have been cut short, there would have been stress and urgency, and a scramble to get home as quickly as possible. But God, in His unseen wisdom, had already gone before them.

As I sat with this, I couldn’t help but think back to Jonah. When the storm finally calmed after he was thrown into the sea, the sailors didn’t just move on. Scripture tells us they feared the Lord greatly and offered sacrifices to Him. What began as fear turned into worship. They couldn’t see what God was doing in the moment, but afterward, they recognized His hand.

And isn’t that so often our story?

We walk through moments that don’t make sense, situations that feel frustrating or even disappointing, only to later see that God was doing something far greater than we could have imagined.

I think of Joshua and the Israelites walking around the walls of Jericho. No battle plan, no visible strategy—just footsteps and trumpets. Day after day, circling in obedience, until suddenly the walls came down. God was working in ways that made no sense in the moment, only to reveal His power in His perfect timing.

I think of Esther, standing at the threshold of uncertainty, choosing to step forward anyway. She didn’t have clarity, only courage. If I perish, I perish, she said, trusting that God was at work even when she could not see the outcome.

And here were Jay and Catherine, facing their own unexpected turn. A canceled trip. A missed experience. Plans undone. And yet, instead of holding tightly to what was lost, they held it loosely. There will be another trip. And in that posture, they made room to receive what God was doing.

Because what looked like loss was actually preparation. What felt like inconvenience was actually provision. What seemed like a closed door was actually perfect timing.

God is always working in the unseen—arranging, aligning, preparing. Just like with Jonah. Just like with Jericho. Just like with Esther. And just like with Jay, Catherine, and baby Sterling.

A tapestry is being woven, one thread at a time, often in ways we don’t understand until much later. But every thread matters.

Maybe today something in your life feels disrupted. A plan didn’t work out. A door closed. Something shifted unexpectedly. What if, instead of resisting it, we asked, “God, what are You doing that I cannot yet see?”

Because the same God who calmed the sea, who brought down walls, who positioned Esther, is the same God who is writing your story. His timing is never early and never late. It is always perfect.

And sometimes what feels like an interruption is actually an invitation to witness His goodness up close