10 Bible Verses About God’s Plan for Your Life
We all face times when God changes our plans. He sends roadblocks to redirect paths that appeared to be smooth and clear. He permits detours that feel more like derailments. Today, we’ll explore ten Bible verses about God’s plan.
First, I invite you to join me as I climbed a mountain alongside my 13-year-old daughter, Bekah. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you embrace God’s plan for your life.
Bible Verses About God’s Plan: And What to Do With Detours
As Bekah and I stand at the base of the giant quartzite mountain, I don’t expect our ascent to become a lesson on how to respond when God changes your plans.
“I can’t believe the summit is only three miles away,” she marvels. “It looks like it’s going to take forever to get up there.”
“I guess it’ll happen one step at a time. This is going to be a steep climb, but we’ll get there one step at a time,” I respond optimistically.
When God Changes Your Plans
An hour later, we cling to the side of the giant mountain with racing hearts and trembling knees.
“Keep three points of contact at all times,” I remind her. I’m beginning to question the wisdom of our adventure. She’s 13, and this is her first scramble up an actual mountain.
“Mom, this is scary,” she calls from behind me.
“You’re doing great. Just don’t look down,” I tell her. We’ve been climbing up the steep mountainside for about an hour, and it almost feels like we could reach out and touch the summit.
We continue onward for a while, and we’re 50 yards from the summit when I realize we have a problem. From a distance, the ledge we were climbing appeared to lead directly to the top of the ridgeline. However, as we cling to the top of the ledge, I realize a large crevasse, unseen from below, stands between us and the top of the ridge.
We have two choices: We can attempt to scale a sheer rock face above us, or we can turn around and climb back down the mountain.
After reminding myself that I’m no longer an invincible 20-year-old solo mountain climber, I realize that despite how far we’ve come, we need to turn back.
I will not be the foolish mother who puts her child in harm’s way for the sake of a temporal goal.
Turning Around
“We’ve come far enough,” I call to Bekah as she rests on a boulder below me. “It’s time to turn back.”
“What do you mean? We’re so close!” she contends, unable to see the crevasse from her vantage point.
“There’s a huge crevasse between us and the summit. We can’t cross it safely, and we can’t go straight up. It’s best to turn around and go back down,” I calmly explain.
“I can’t go back down that!” she decrees.
We both look down the mountainside. I don’t want to navigate down the dauntingly steep 1,000-foot cliff either. But we cannot go farther up.
Glancing at Bekah, I quickly realize she’s getting emotional as she clings to the mountain.
Scrambling over a few loose boulders to sit beside her, I put a hand on her shoulder. “We will make it down in the same way we came up: One step at a time,” I encourage her. “I’ve done this more times than I can count.”
“Well, I haven’t!” she responds.
After a short lesson on how to descend a mountain safely, including points of contact and foot positioning, we begin our descent. Slowly, we make our way down the rocky cliff and breathe a sigh of relief when our feet return to the flat ground.
Two hours after turning around near the ridgeline, as we sit along an alpine lake eating cans of bean soup, she declares, “At least I have a good story for my friends: My mom almost killed me on a mountain.”
What to Do When God Changes Your Plans
I’ve been thinking about our mountain climb since it happened, thanking God for the wisdom to turn back before our situation shifted from mildly dangerous to entirely perilous.
At times, the wise decision in life is to turn around and go back. Turning back is wise when we’re chasing goals that lead us to dangerous places.
I’ve done this on more than just mountains.
I’ve pursued jobs, ministry ventures, relationships, goals, and dreams that weren’t in God’s best plans for me.
Sadly, too many times, I’ve pushed toward these goals with unbridled tenacity, even when godly wisdom whispered, “Turn around, my child. You have strayed from the path.”
Tenacity is good. But I don’t want to be so stubborn that I follow my goals at all costs instead of following Jesus.
I don't want to be so stubborn that I follow my goals at all costs instead of following Jesus. #goals #tenacity #Jesus Share on XMaybe you need this gentle reminder today, too: There is a time to reassess our goals and turn around. The greatest growth is always found on the way toward the goal—along the journey—more than in actually reaching the goal.
I’ve learned more about the craft of writing books by writing “practice books” than by actually publishing books. I’ve learned more about loving well by quietly and humbly loving those in front of me than by launching huge ministries.
The growth takes place along the journey, friend—even if you never make it to the top of the mountain. Let’s now look at seven Bible verses about God’s plan for our lives.
Bible Verses About God’s Plan
1. Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
When I don’t understand what God is doing, I return to this verse.
We are not called to rely on our own understanding. Instead, we are to turn to God, ask him to help us trust him, and seek him continually. When we do so, he makes our paths straight and guides us.
2. Romans 8:28
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
This verse reminds us that God is able to work all situations, even terrible ones, for good purposes in our lives. Hold onto this truth when you feel tempted to doubt his goodness.
3. 1 Corinthians 6:19-120
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
We are called to honor God with our bodies. Remembering this helps us live within God’s boundaries and fulfill our purposes.
4. Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We are called to follow Jesus and then make followers wherever we go, even to the ends of the earth.
5. Ephesians 2:10
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
We were each created to do good works, which God prepared for us. Are you using your God-given gifts and talents to help others? If so, you are fulfilling part of the good works God planned for you.
6. Psalm 37:5
“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.”
We are all called to commit our lives to the Lord. When we do so, he will direct our steps.
7. Exodus 9:16
“But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.”
We are to proclaim God’s name to all the earth. We are to point others to him and share his love.
8. Proverbs 16:9
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
God wants to establish our steps.
Our role is to look to him and do our best to obey him.
9. Jeremiah 29:11
“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.”
These words were a promise to God’s people during the Babylonian captivity, and they are a promise to his children today as well.
God’s plans for his children are good. We can trust that he wants the best for our lives. He fights for us.
10. 2 Corinthians 12:9
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
Do you feel weak today?
This familiar verse reminds us that our weakness is the perfect backdrop for God to show up in his power.
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Calling All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
A Free Devotional to Help You Connect With God
God is a good Father, and he wants us to experience his healing, deliverance, and replenishment. Most of us have learned that we cannot heal, deliver, or refresh ourselves; we need God to do this work within us. I invite you to create space for God to transform your life by downloading a free copy of my devotional eBook, The Lean Into Grace Devotional: An 8-Day Devotional for Healing, Deliverance, and Replenishment. Find it for free here. 
