If it would have been up to me, I would have written the plans differently, and frankly, I would have messed everything up! If I were to select a man who would be outstanding in his service, who would be instrumental in planting numerous, numerous churches, I would have turned him loose and given him unlimited freedom of travel.

That’s how I would have planned it!

Would I ever have gotten it all wrong. How differently the Lord planned the life of dear Paul the Apostle. It seems that everywhere Paul went, he was beaten, humiliated, and taken into custody. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon were all written during Paul’s imprisonment. Think of this! In Paul’s confinement, God gave expansion to the gospel. Paul was honest about his hardship. He was also excited about his opportunities. Think of what he said:

“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:12-14).

I would have had it all wrong.
The Lord always does what is right.
The Lord expanded Paul’s ministry by his confinement.

Today, I want to be the kind of believer who is confident in the Lord’s plan even if it is not what I would have chosen. What contentment comes even in the hard times knowing that our Father is in control.