When Life Doesn’t Follow the Formula

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5–6

Proverbs 3:5–6 is a foundational passage for navigating unexpected seasons. In the book of Proverbs, Solomon writes to instruct God’s people in wisdom that comes from fearing the Lord. Trusting the Lord with our whole heart is presented as the opposite of depending on our limited human understanding. This contrast becomes especially important when life refuses to follow the straight path we anticipated.

Most of us carry quiet formulas in our hearts, even if we never say them aloud. Somewhere along the way we begin to believe that if we love well, teach truth, pray faithfully, stay steady, and try our best to walk with Jesus, then life will unfold the way we hoped it would. We don’t always admit it, even to ourselves, but we start to expect a certain outcome, a straight line, a story that makes sense.

When the Story Turns in an Unexpected Direction

And when life takes a turn we never saw coming, it rattles something deep inside us. We replay conversations, memories, and seasons we wish we could edit. We wonder if a different choice or reaction might have prevented the heartache we’re holding now. We feel the sting of the distance between what we prayed for and what actually came to be.

Scripture gives us many examples of this tension. Joseph did everything faithfully, yet his path led through betrayal and prison before redemption. Job walked uprightly before the Lord, yet he encountered suffering that made no earthly sense. These accounts remind us that righteousness does not exempt us from unexpected turns.

Faithfulness Is Not a Formula

Here is the truth I’m slowly learning: faithfulness is not a formula. Love is not a guarantee. Doing everything “right” doesn’t promise ease or predictability. We live among real people with real hurts and stories that stretch far beyond our reach.

But tucked inside that realization is a surprising mercy. If life isn’t driven by our formulas, then the story isn’t ruined by our failures. We are not the ones holding all the pieces together. And the parts of the story that break our hearts are still cradled in the hands of a God who is never confused, never afraid, never surprised.

Surrender in the Unpredictable Places

Surrender, for me, is looking at the places that didn’t go the way I imagined and saying, “Lord, I trust You in this place.” It’s unclenching my grip on the outcomes I thought I could shape. It’s remembering that I follow a Shepherd who knows the way through terrain I cannot see.

Throughout Scripture, God is described as a Shepherd who leads His people with care and purpose. Psalm 23 assures us that He guides us along right paths for His name’s sake, even when those paths include valleys we would not choose. Jesus echoes this in John 10 as the Good Shepherd who goes before His sheep. Surrender becomes possible when we remember His character and His commitment to lead us well.

It’s trusting that He can redeem what I cannot repair and restore what I cannot fix.

When Your Formula Falls Apart

If your story isn’t unfolding the way you expected, if the formula you held quietly in your heart didn’t lead where you thought it would, you are not the only one.

The God who knows the whole story is still writing in the places you can’t yet see. Even in the unraveling of your expectations, His goodness remains steady beneath your feet.

Prayer

Lord, meet us in the places that don’t make sense. Quiet our fear, steady our hearts, and help us trust You with what we cannot see. Hold our stories with Your mercy and lead us with Your peace. Amen.