When God's Plans Interrupt Yours: Learning to Surrender with Mary
Devotional week 27
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1:38 (NIV)
In 2016, during our holidays, my wife and I spent a month in a country that completely captured our hearts. That experience planted a dream in us. We decided we wanted to move abroad, seeking not only a better quality of life but also opportunities to live out our faith among people from different nations. Our plan was simple. We hoped to settle in a city with many international university students, rent out one of our spare rooms, and, through everyday life, reveal Christ to those who stayed with us.
Two years later, we sold everything we owned and returned, believing the next step would be to change our tourist visa into a work visa. It seemed like a good plan. It made sense, and we believed it could bless many people. But our visa was denied.
We returned to our home country and applied again. Even after meeting every requirement, our application was refused a second time.
Confused and uncertain about what God was doing, we moved to another city and began attending a local church. On our very first Sunday, the sermon was titled The Waiting Room. My wife and I immediately sensed that God was speaking to us. Rather than opening the door we wanted, He was inviting us into a season of waiting, drawing us closer to Himself and gently reshaping our expectations.
That waiting season lasted three years.
Looking back now, we can see that God was not rejecting our desire to serve Him internationally. He was redirecting it. During those years, He transformed our understanding of mission, teaching us that Acts 1:8 could be lived through our daily work. He was preparing us to become tentmakers, just not in the country we had chosen.
Today, as I write this devotional, we are beginning our fifth year living in an Asian country that has welcomed us with incredible grace. We are deeply grateful for how God has led us. His plan proved far better than the one we had carefully designed for ourselves.
Mary experienced something even greater. In Luke 1:26–38, her life was interrupted by God's unexpected invitation. She had her own expectations for the future, yet everything changed when the angel announced God's plan. Mary could not see how every detail would unfold, but she responded with remarkable humility and faith: "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled."
Our story is very different from Mary's, yet we share the same challenge. There are moments when God lovingly interrupts our plans, not because our dreams are necessarily wrong, but because His purposes are greater than we can see. Surrendering is rarely easy. It requires humility, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, prayer, and a willingness to trust God even when His direction does not make immediate sense.
When we hold our plans with open hands and remain close to God, the journey may still include disappointment and unanswered questions. Yet, in His perfect timing, we often discover that the places He leads us are far richer than the places we would have chosen ourselves.
There is no better place to be than in the centre of God's will.
Challenge
Take a few moments today to ask yourself: Is there a dream, a plan, or an expectation that I am holding more tightly than I am holding on to God? Place it before the Lord in prayer and ask Him to give you the courage to trust His direction, even if it looks different from your own.
Prayer
Father, thank You because Your plans are always wiser than mine. Forgive me for the times I have clung too tightly to my own expectations. Give me a heart like Mary's, willing to say yes even when I cannot see the whole journey ahead. Teach me to trust You in seasons of waiting and to follow wherever You lead. May my work, my life, and my future always serve Your purposes and bring glory to Your name. Amen.
By a tentmaker in Asia