I had to chuckle this morning at church when a missionary repeated the question that his family had asked him years ago after he told them that he would forego the expected, “safe” route of becoming a businessman, choosing instead to become a full-time evangelist.  They asked, “Do you have a backup plan for when God fails you?”

It’s an absurd question, of course; by His nature, God cannot fail.  Yet, we so often live like we need another option for when God’s plan seems unclear or leads to hardship.  More often than not, God’s plan won’t make sense to us because His ways are greater than our ways, and His thoughts are greater than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8), but, as I read in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers on Wednesday morning, “A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities.”

This week, as I participated in the missions conference at my home church, I was reminded several times that God’s plan and His timing are perfect.  On Thursday morning, for example, I asked the ladies at my church to pray that the final document that I needed for my visa application would arrive quickly.  When I opened the mail at my apartment that night, I found a crisp manila envelope holding that last document!

Please continue to pray that I will be able to submit my visa application by the beginning of September, that I will be granted a visa, and that the dozens of remaining details will come together over the next few months.  From my finite perspective, it seems like a lot of work to complete with little time, but praise God that His timing is perfect and His plan never fails!