By Mike Caton

Genesis 48:17-18, When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

Joseph has put his sons on the appropriate sides for Jacob to bless; Manasseh the oldest on Jacob’s right side and Ephraim the youngest on Jacob’s left side. However, Jacob has crossed his hands and Joseph tries to straighten him out. How often do things work out just like we have them planned? Maybe that’s a funny question and maybe we think they never do. But that would not be exactly right. There are many times we plan and things go along about like we planned them to. Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes it is not, sometimes our plans are not really all that good to begin with.

It is important for us to learn to deal with things that are not exactly as we planned. The truth is, we have no other option. Life is unpredictable, if you haven’t already figured that out. We need to plan, no doubt about it, we need to look ahead, to try to figure out what may happen and be prepared for that. But when things don’t go as we planned, we cannot quit. We have to reexamine the situation, we have to consider our options and resources, we have to come up with another plan.

There is an old Yiddish proverb that says, “We plan, God laughs.” We need to learn that our plans can change. And the plans God has for us are always, always better than the plans we have for ourselves. Joseph’s sons would become two tribes, essentially twice what he could have hoped for. But we need to be willing to accept and live out God’s plans. We cannot hold stubbornly to what we want or what we think, we need to learn to trust God completely. That is a tall order, no doubt. Especially when what we have worked for and planned has flown out the window.

Father, help me commit to your plan. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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