The Golden Nugget: “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” —Woody Allen

Daily Verse: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” —Jeremiah 29:11

Daily Message: 
There’s a scene from the movie Radio in which the coach of the football team for which Radio is the manager calls a play and sends it out on the field with one of the players. Radio, always the optimistic and encouraging one, cheers, “That’s a good one, Coach!” However, the play turns out to be far less than a good one for the team. We all know the reason the coach’s plan failed, don’t we? Either execution—a player missed an assignment—or, more likely, the other team did something to disrupt the whole plan.

It’s good to design a plan, to have an end in mind and to make goals along the way to achieve that end. But do your plans include God? His plans include you. Don’t you think God’s plans are perfect—even if we don’t always understand them at the moment? Wouldn’t the God of all the earth have the power you need to realize his plan for your life? And while we understand the humor behind Woody Allen’s quip, it’s important to recognize that God is saddened, not laughing, when your plans for life do not involve him.

Consider This:

• Why do people get angry with God when their plans fail?
• How can you tell the difference between God’s plan for you and another person’s idea of what God’s plan is for you?

Take Action:
Write your own epithet for your tombstone and ask God to make whatever you wrote true for you.