When Plans Change: Finding God in the Unknown

So, I got back late last night for racing Daytona. I went down there with a plan, what I got was something different. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great time, but I got taken out by another rider and had some weird things happen...things I hadn’t planned on. Sound familiar? In the end, I ended leaving with a podium (3rd) and a DNF. But I came home full of reflection and fellowship with some of my friends. “"I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.' I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you;”Job 42:2-5 You see, I slept outside in the van Monday night at the track. I haven’t done that in a long time but the weather and temps demanded it. In a rare moment of quiet, I looked up.It’s a funny thing when I focus on something so expansive as the sky, I feel small. But it’s a smallness that somehow simplifies my life, distills it down so that I see clearly the things that matter.When God says no and I begin to drown in the whys, my focus is inward. “This will be hard,” I think. “Do you even hear me, God?”Yet, there’s like something about looking up that changes me. As I look up and think about the unknown that my God holds in the palm of His hand, my perspective shifts. I am small, but I am part of a much larger plan.It is as Job says at the end of his trial, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.”It is the “no” that takes me to an unknown place, a place I never would have traveled on my own. But, while I have been here, my God has come sharper into view and now I see the miracles He can work.I can only imagine if you spend some time today reflecting on the grace and the road that led you to where you are at this exact moment, you can’t help but to see Gods handiwork. Be Nice, Grace Wins.