I was ready to push the ejection seat button on that little remark! I may not always be cool, but I definitely know how to lose my cool.

The other way to be cool is to be cool under fire; composed under pressure; courageous in the midst of uncertainty.

Having courage in all situations – remaining cool, calm and collected – is something you can do when you learn to trust in God’s Plans; you can have courage in all situations by trusting God’s love and plans for you.

The prophet Jeremiah gave us these words from God:

“. . . blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7)

Trusting in God’s plans is not always easy. Trusting in God’s plans usually means adopting a very different sense of time and urgency. He’s patient – but, not slow.

Fritz Ridenour wrote a great book called Life at Warp Speed – all about slowing down to catch up with God. God’s timing and time efficiency is very different from our own. Someone once said: “God is never late – He’s never early – He’s always right on time!” He’s never slow – WE just feel that way!

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Trusting in God’s plans usually means changing your own plans. Jesus told us to “. . . seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. . .” (Matthew 6:33) Everything else falls into place once you seek God’s plans FIRST.

Trusting in God’s plans usually means walking by faith – a.k.a. putting one foot in front of the other even when you can’t see the pathway. God has a plan – and He loves you – so you can trust His plan for you.

God told us this through Jeremiah:

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Trusting in God’s plans requires being cool, calm, collected, connected, and courageous!

Read the story of Moses birth from Exodus 1-2:10. This story can teach us about God’s plans and the special timelines God uses that can be so very different from our own.

The Israelites are in trouble. They’re a nation of perhaps 3 million people or more – enslaved in Egypt by a Pharaoh that did not remember the help that the Israelite Joseph had been to the Pharaoh. The Israelites were forced to do hard labor in their slavery. Life was nearly unbearable – and they were generations without hope – calling out to God for deliverance.

God had made a promise to Abraham. Abraham was father of Isaac and the grandfather of Jacob – whose sons became the 12 tribes of Israel now in bondage some 400 years later. God’s promise to Abraham was that he would be the father of many nations, that he and his offspring would possess a Promised Land in the fertile crescent (modern-day Israel), and that the Israelites would be a blessing to all the nations.

The slaves in Egypt called out to God to fulfill His promise.

So God devised a plan: He would send them a deliverer. The plan was long in coming, it took time to get all the pieces moved into the right places on the board.

What’s more – God’s plan was extremely dependent on people to carry out His orders. Yes – God would work some miracles – putting the plan together and calling Moses up to lead the people were miracles in their own right – but God worked it so that His plan could only be accomplished with human involvement and trust.

The plan started with the birth of a Hebrew slave baby - a baby with a signed death warrant already hanging over his head. Where could this plan possibly go from there? How is it possible for God to deliver His people through a plan with such a shaky start?

But God’s plans are perfect. They will accomplish the task they’re designed to do. Israel needs a deliverer – so God brings Moses into the world.

It took courage for Moses’ mother and sister to risk their lives to save his by placing him in the basket on the Nile River – but they were motivated by love. It took courage for Pharaoh’s daughter to rescue this slave baby from the reeds of the Nile River and raise him as her own – but she was motivated by love. It took courage and trust for Moses – after he was exiled from Egypt and had lived away from Egypt as a sheep herder and nomad - to follow God’s plans and return to Egypt to rescue the people of Israel – but he was motivate by his love for God and by the love God had for the people of Israel. It took trust for the people of Israel to follow God’s plans to deliver them from bondage. God loved them so much – that He could not bear to have them enslaved any longer.

What plans does God have for you? Are you afraid of God’s plans for you? Have you been running away from His plans for you? Can you trust that God’s plans ALWAYS have your best interest at heart?

I’ve known at least 4 people who have had cancer – 2 who died from the disease and 2 who did not – that God was able to use to minister to their families and friends in ways that would not have been possible had they not had the cancer. Could you live with a disease – and ultimately die from it – if you knew God was going to use the disease to change the eternity of your children and your friends?

I’ve known people who live on the poverty level who tithe and give generously to others – and I’ve known people who were rich financially who have lost nearly everything and still praised God because they had health, they had family, and they had a far more rich relationship with God. Can you imagine living on 10% and giving 90% to God?

I’ve known retired people who went back to work full-time as public school teachers and as missionaries in foreign countries and in the inner city because they had so much to offer and wanted to bless people with the lives they had left to live. Could you give up a dream vacation or a dream retirement in place of what would have seemed like a waste or a drudgery 10 years ago, but now seems like the only thing you can see yourself doing?

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, and whose confidence is in Him. People who trust in God are like trees planted by the water that send out their roots by the stream. These trees don’t fear when the heat of summer comes! The leaves on these trees are always green. These trees have no worries – even in a year-long drought – and these trees never fail to bear much fruit.

Blessed are you when you trust in God’s plans. Your roots go deep into the wellspring of God’s promises. You don’t have to fear when troubles come – because you’re connected to Him. And you’ll always bear incredible fruit for the Kingdom. (Jeremiah 17:7 paraphrase)

Courage does not mean the absence of fear. . . courage means that you’re willing to act in the midst of being afraid.

Trusting God is not assuming that life today will be fine and perfect – but that life today can be difficult and tiresome. The trust is in the assuredness and certainty that, in the end, everything ends up fine and perfect.

What does trusting God mean to you? How can you grow in your ability to trust Him for everything in life?

When we read about Moses being born under a death sentence, being given away to the Pharaoh’s daughter to be raised by the slave masters, being exiled by the slave masters, and coming back many years later to secure the release of millions of slaves, we become aware that God works everything out in detail, behind closed doors, without our input and without our agendas.

Sometimes, trusting in God’s plans requires time. Sometimes, trusting in God’s plans requires different preferences. Sometimes, trusting in God’s plans requires changing our plans.

To have courage in all situations – you surrender yourself to God. To have courage in all situations – you learn to trust in God’s plans for you. To have courage in all situations – you come to the realization that God’s plans require formulating and tweaking and perfecting – and therefore require a different timeline than your plans. To have courage in all situations means that you come face-to-face with the realization that God loves you with His entire being.

And when you come to the realization that He loves you enough to formulate a plan to send His Son, Jesus, to die in your place – you can’t help but love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength!