When the Plan Looks Different

August 12, 2026

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 31–35 & Matthew 11:2–6

Key Verse: “He will be the sure foundation for your times…” — Isaiah 33:6

Today’s Truth

Sometimes trusting God is hardest when we thought we already knew the plan.

Lately, I’ve been living there.

We thought we had a plan for my daughter. We made incredibly difficult decisions, believing we were doing what was best for her. Then circumstances outside our control changed everything, and suddenly she was home—and we were left asking, “Okay, God…what now?”

I want a plan. I want to know what the next step is. Honestly, I want to know the next ten steps.

But today’s reading reminded me that God isn't asking me to have everything figured out.

In Isaiah 31, God's people were afraid, so they looked toward Egypt for security. They wanted something tangible—something they could see and depend on.

I understand that feeling.

When I'm scared, my instinct is to research more, plan harder, fix the problem and find the answer. Those things aren't necessarily wrong. But they become a problem when I start trusting my ability to figure everything out more than I trust God.

Then Isaiah gives this beautiful promise:

“He will be the sure foundation for your times.” — Isaiah 33:6

Maybe God isn't going to give me the entire plan today.

Maybe He's reminding me that He is the foundation when everything else feels uncertain.

And then there's John the Baptist.

In Matthew 11, John is sitting in prison asking Jesus if He really is the One they've been waiting for. Things weren't unfolding the way John expected.

Jesus doesn't shame him for questioning. Instead, He points John toward the evidence that God is already working.

That speaks deeply to me.

When life doesn't look the way I thought it would, I can become so focused on what's going wrong that I miss where God is already moving.

So today, instead of demanding the whole roadmap, I'm trying to ask a different question:

“God, what is the next right thing You are asking me to do today?”

Love my daughter today.

Pray today.

Set the boundaries that need set today.

Take care of myself today.

Trust Him today.

And leave tomorrow with Him.

Isaiah 35 promises that even the wilderness can bloom again. 🌱

I don't know exactly what that blooming will look like for our family yet.

But I know the God who walks with us through the wilderness.

And for today, that is enough.

💜 Hope for Today

You don't have to know the whole plan to take the next faithful step.

Your circumstances may feel uncertain, but your God is not.

Keep walking. Keep trusting. Keep looking for the places He's already working.

The wilderness isn't the end of the story.

🙏 Prayer

Jesus, when life doesn't go according to my plans, help me resist the urge to control everything. Be my stability in the uncertainty. Show me the next right thing to do today, and give me faith to leave tomorrow in Your hands. Help me notice where You are already working, and remind me that You can still make beautiful things grow in wilderness places. Amen. 💜

Hope 40:31 - Hope for the heart, Strength for the journey, Faith for every season