You can be passionately wrong. You can passionately have an goal picked out for your life that you feel is where God wants you, but that goal could just be a stop on the way to a destination that you wouldn't have thought of in a million years. That's what happened to my husband and I during our first year of marriage. We had a goal to achieve and we were just certain -- absolutely sure -- that it was where God was calling us. So, we took all the steps to get there. We moved out of our home, quit jobs, placed college on hold -- made ourselves so vulnerable that we were completely dependent on this goal that we were so passionately positive was God's will. And guess what? It didn't happen. But it was still God's will. We didn't get to the goal. But we learned lessons. We were back to square negative one, if that's such a thing. But we were on our way to somewhere more rewarding and more completely awesome than that place we were originally aiming for.
The realization that our heartbreak was part of God's plan was not one that came easily or quickly. Once we did accept that fact, we understood that God's ways are intentional. Sure, it didn't seem like it at the time. Frankly, it seemed pretty careless to me. I didn't understand how God could let us be so persuaded one way, when He knew it would never work out. But God knows what you need to grow and to learn. Some people may only need a baby-slap on the wrist and they learn the lesson God has for them. Others (like my husband and I apparently) are stubborn and need a full gut punch to come to the realization that we can make all the plans we want, but God is going to get you to His goal he has for you. You just help determine the stops you make along the way.
God will always be intentional in where He puts you. Jesus is so present in our lives. There's never a moment that He falls asleep on you, or gets distracted and forgets to guide you. He sees your decisions and He knows that effort you put into making those -- the prayer time spent, the guidance you sought. He knows that best way and most beneficial way to get you to where He has specifically designed you to be. Sometimes that involves a little heartbreak so it becomes so real that you can't ignore His discipline and guidance.
Acts 16:6-10 talks about Paul and Timothy's journey to spread the gospel. There were multiple cities that the Bible says the Holy Spirit prevented them from visiting. Paul and Timothy were passionate about spreading the gospel, and God still wanted those cities to be reached, but Christ felt that maybe they weren't the ones to do it, or maybe the timing wasn't right, so Jesus put a road block there for them. He gave them a detour, but He still led them to where He wanted them to land.
Jesus may give you a different route than you'd pick, but that route is intentional for you and specific for you. No matter the route, His will be done.
