Every season of my life teaches me something new about the size of God. Between GoFaithStrong, the Fostering by Faith Boutique, my family, the law firm, and teaching, I find myself depending more and more entirely on God’s provision to survive, let alone thrive. There is no safety net or backup plan. There is no going back to the comfortable life—whatever that means. Every part of my life is completely stretched far beyond what my own hands, hours, or resources could EVER sustain. But none of this is proof of my abilities or strength. It is 100% proof of God’s plan at work. My friend, when the work of our hands far exceeds what we can humanly accomplish, it is evidence that God is in charge.
Our life becomes almost like walking across a giant chasm…on a bridge no one but God can see.
It’s a great adventure! And…it is available to anyone who 100% surrenders their life to God—first for salvation and second for living. Consider the widow who was so poor she only had two pennies to give. She was following God’s Plan A because she was giving her “whole livelihood.” The Bible says:
“Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the crowd put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.'” (Mark 12:41-44)
She gave her WHOLE livelihood. Her sacrifice moved beyond ordinary giving into full entrustment. Living like there is no Plan B is the natural outworking of that same heart-posture. It is not carelessness. It is the settled confidence that God Himself is our all in all. He is our Plan A and the sustaining strength behind every forward step. Jesus modeled this exact posture when He commissioned His disciples for ministry.
“Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.” (Matthew 10:9-10)
Jesus did not send them out equipped with contingency provisions. He sent them out equipped with Himself. Their obedience outran their preparation, and their 100% trust became the very resource that carried them forward. This is a strenuous faith that has God as its center—instead of anything less than God (like money). Jesus explained the logic of this faith:
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:26, 28-30)
If God clothes wildflowers that bloom for a single season and feeds birds that never plant a single seed, He is neither careless nor forgetful toward the people He has given His very life to redeem. Sparrows do not stockpile. Lilies do not scheme. Yet neither one goes without, because provision was never dependent on their own foresight. They are completely dependent on His faithfulness. The Macedonian believers understood this same surrender and were proof of the tremendous blessings God produces in a willing heart:
“Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)
Notice the order Paul was careful to record. They did not simply share their resources; they first gave themselves to the Lord, and the sharing followed naturally out of that surrender. Their poverty did not disqualify them from being generous. When our hearts belong fully to God first, what flows out of us is beyond our human ability. But it is not a mystery. It is simply God’s powerful presence shining through a life that is surrendered.
This does not mean we abandon fiscal responsibility or run our bodies into the ground. The distinction is that the wise steward prepares, labors diligently, and counts the cost, yet refuses to let the resources and time God entrusts to him become the true object of his trust. This is in line with God’s Word.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
That distinction is what separates living without a Plan B from living recklessly. Recklessness ignores wisdom and calls it faith. Genuine trust honors wisdom while refusing to let wisdom (and the products of wisdom) become an idol, a hedge, or an escape hatch.
We do not need an exit plan from God’s strategy for our lives.
My friend, I’m learning to ask the Holy Spirit today to search out every place I have been holding onto a Plan B—whether in ministry, work, finances, time, or some private corner I’ve reserved for myself. I’m asking Him to reveal the places of self-reliance and to replace them with the same God-confidence of the poor widow who gave her whole livelihood because God was her Plan A.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I confess I struggle with giving You control and trusting You 100%. Give me wisdom to steward well and the courage to trust You. Show me Your glory. Let my life reflect the same complete surrender You saw in the widow who gave her whole livelihood and the same surrender the Macedonian believers gave when they gave themselves to You before they gave anything else. You are my Plan A. Help me trust You enough to keep it that way! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
