When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned
Genesis 29:25 (ESV)
“And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?’”
Genesis 29 is one of those chapters where everything feels like it should be going one way, and then suddenly it goes another. Jacob arrives, meets Rachel, and immediately knows this is the woman he wants to marry. He agrees to work seven years for her, and Scripture says those years felt like only a few days because of his love for her. Everything seems to be lining up perfectly.
Until it doesn’t.
After seven years of waiting, working, and anticipating, Jacob is deceived. Instead of Rachel, he is given Leah. The moment that was supposed to bring fulfillment instead brings confusion, frustration, and disappointment. The plan he had in his mind does not match the reality he wakes up to.
And if we are honest, we know what that feels like.
There are seasons where we are moving forward, doing the right things, being faithful, putting in the time, and expecting a certain outcome. We believe we know how the story is supposed to unfold. And then something shifts. The outcome is not what we expected. The timing is different. The result feels off. Life doesn’t go as planned.
I think the reality is that for those of us who are planners, and I definitely fall into that category, we experience this in a unique way. There are times when our plans come together exactly how we envisioned, and then there are times when it feels like curveball after curveball keeps coming. What I have come to learn is that when I take my plans and commit them to the Lord, when I slow down enough to pray and place them in His hands, those curveballs begin to look different. They start to look less like interruptions and more like opportunities. Opportunities for growth, for trust, for God to do something I did not originally account for.
And one of my favorite things is looking back months or even years later and realizing that what felt like an inconvenience at the time was actually something God used to change my life for the better. If that moment had not happened, I would not be where I am today.
That is what Genesis 29 is showing us.
Even when life does not go according to our plan, God is still working according to His. Jacob could not see it in the moment, but God was moving through every detail of this story. Through the confusion, through the delay, through the unexpected turn, God was continuing to build something that would ultimately fulfill His promise.
And there is another layer here that is easy to miss. Leah. She was not chosen. She lived in the shadow of her sister, carrying the weight of rejection. And yet, as the story unfolds, it is through Leah that God builds something significant. What was overlooked by man was not overlooked by God.
So today, if something in your life does not look the way you thought it would, do not assume God has stepped away. He is still present. He is still working. And He is still writing a story that is bigger than what you can currently see.
Even when life does not go as planned, God’s purpose is still unfolding.
Prayer
Lord, thank You that Your plans are greater than ours. When life does not go the way we expect, help us to trust that You are still working. Give us peace in the uncertainty and confidence in Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name, amen.