When God Interrupts Your Plans

Years ago, I heard John Wimber say,

“I’m just change in God’s pocket. He can spend me however He wants to.”

I’ve carried that phrase with me for a long time.

I find comfort in it.

Not because I always agree with how He chooses to spend me. Honestly, there have been many moments when I would have preferred a different assignment, a different timing, or a different destination altogether. But there is something deeply grounding in remembering that my life ultimately belongs to Someone who sees far beyond what I can see.

He knows where this story is going.

I don’t.

Over the years, Marie and I have learned that following Jesus often means holding our plans loosely. Sometimes He says "go" when you would rather stay. Sometimes He says "stay" when your heart is already leaning toward something new. Either way, obedience has a way of exposing what we’re really trusting.

I remember a season around 2006 when I began sensing the Lord saying one simple word:

"Go."

Leave the place you are. Leave what is familiar. Leave what feels secure and trust Me to send you somewhere new.

The problem was… I didn’t want to go. I was happy where I was.

I loved what we were building. I believed there was still promise there that had not yet been fully realized. There were relationships I treasured, ministry I loved, and dreams I believed God Himself had placed in our hearts.

And if I’m honest, there was something even deeper going on in me.

I felt like I deserved to see it through.

I had invested years. I had prayed. Sacrificed. Poured myself into people. Worked hard. Believed big. And somewhere along the way, without even realizing it, my stewardship had quietly started feeling a little like ownership.

So for the next few months, I dragged my feet.

I delayed. I resisted. I argued with God. I complained to Marie. I complained to just about anyone who would listen.

I told the Lord how unfair it felt. How untimely it felt. How much sense it made to stay. I had plenty of reasons… and if I’m honest, most of them sounded pretty spiritual.

But underneath all my logic was a much deeper struggle.

I didn’t want to let go.

Eventually all of that delay, reluctance, and resistance culminated in a moment I can still picture clearly.

It felt like a confrontation.

Not angry or condemning, but unmistakably clear.

In what I can only describe as a holy moment, I felt the Lord pressing a simple question deep into my heart:

"Are you Mine… or not?"

Not, "Do you love Me?"

Not, "Do you believe in Me?"

Not, "Will you work for Me?"

Simply… "Are you Mine?"

Because if I am His… then even the dreams He gave me belong to Him. Even the promises I’m still waiting on belong to Him. Even the ministries I love. The people I treasure. The future I’ve imagined.

All of it belongs to Him.

And in that moment, almost out of nowhere, John Wimber’s words came rushing back to me:

“I’m just change in God’s pocket. He can spend me however He wants to.”

I remember praying those words back to the Lord… not out loud, but from somewhere deep inside.

Lord… I feel like there are things You’ve spoken to me. Dreams You’ve given me. Promises that haven’t been fulfilled yet.

"But if this is You…

Then I’m just change in Your pocket.

Spend me however You want."

And for the first time in months…

I meant it.

That moment didn’t answer all my questions. It didn’t remove all my fears. But it did settle ownership.

I was never the owner of the dream.

I was never the owner of the assignment.

I was never even the owner of the promises.

I was His.

And that changed everything.

What followed became one of the most exciting, stretching, and fruitful seasons of ministry Marie and I had ever experienced. Looking back now, I can see what I couldn’t see then:

God wasn’t just changing my location. He was shaping my heart.

A few weeks ago I taught from Epistle to the Romans 8:28:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good…”

It’s a wonderful verse. It’s also one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible.

Because Paul doesn’t leave the word "good" undefined.

In the very next verse, he tells us exactly what he means:

Romans 8:29—

“…to be conformed to the image of His Son.”

That changes everything.

The “good” God promises is not necessarily a better situation. Not easier circumstances. Not greater comfort. Not quicker answers.

The “good” God is after is Christ being formed in us.

Sometimes through blessing.

Sometimes through breakthrough.

And sometimes through disappointment, delay, closed doors, interrupted plans, and seasons we never would have chosen for ourselves.

I can’t honestly tell you I’ve got this figured out. I can’t say that I surrender quickly or easily every time God starts rearranging my plans.

I still wrestle.

I still ask questions.

I still feel the tension between what feels safe and what requires trust.

But something has changed over the years... I recognize it sooner now.

I recognize when God is not just changing my circumstances…

He’s inviting me into a deeper place.

A deeper surrender.

A deeper trust.

A deeper dependence.

And while I may not always respond quickly…

I am far more confident than I used to be.

Confident that if He is leading, He will also sustain.

Confident that if He is asking me to release something, He is not trying to diminish me…

He is forming Christ more deeply in me.

Confident that He really does take care of those who follow Him…

Even when the path ahead feels uncertain.

Maybe that’s what maturity looks like.

Not the absence of wrestling…

But learning, a little sooner each time, that He can be trusted.

I still don’t always agree with how He chooses to spend me.

But after all these years I can honestly say this:

He's always good.