When Plans Get Derailed
Sometimes life takes a turn you never saw coming.
My son recently had surgery for a pretty ugly leg injury that happened during a high school football game. He now has screws in his leg and is navigating a 4–6 month recovery.
He’s out for the season.
Has anything unexpected ever taken you by surprise?
If you’re wondering how a sophomore who’s barely 5’7” ended up as the starting running back on the varsity team, it’s because this kid was locked in.
His talent:
He’s been playing football for years. Even before we allowed him to play, he begged to get on the field. Once he did, his natural ability was undeniable. At his first competitive camp, he received the Defensive Back MVP award. After two seasons of club football, he was named Northern Virginia Youth Football Player of the Year.
As a freshman and sophomore in High School, he started each season as the third string running back (mostly because of his size) but quickly earned the starting spot after just a couple of scrimmages. It just seems to come naturally to him.
His work ethic:
He’s in the weight room or on the field every single day. He even took a summer school class to free up his schedule for more gym time during the school year. On weekends and holidays, he’d head to the field to run steps and train on his own. Outside of school, he’s worked with a trainer, chiropractor, and focused on his nutrition.
I’m telling you—he was committed.
He had goals and was working toward them. When faced with decisions about his next steps or how to spend his free time, he’d often say, “I have to do what’s best for my future.”
And then, one mid-season injury changed everything. His original plans were derailed.
Instead of getting stronger, faster, and more precise, his new priority is for his bones to fuse together as perfectly as possible. Instead of activity and movement making him better, rest and recovery are now what will make him better.
Have you ever felt like your life got derailed?
This is surely not how I imagined our next few months going. But what do I know?
I don’t claim to know the future—or what’s best. I’ve lived enough life with God to know that my idea of what’s best often looks very different from His. My preferred way is usually short-sighted and self-serving, while His is for the long game—planting seeds now that will bear fruit in abundance later.
Each time I’ve been “derailed,” it’s actually been a redirection. It’s not the end of the track—it’s the intersection where the rails shift and the train moves onto a new path. Suddenly, you’re headed somewhere you never expected—and things start happening that never would have if you hadn’t shifted tracks.
These shifts can be frustrating, disappointing, even heartbreaking. Fear, anxiety, and uncertainty often follow when your plans change and the future feels foggy.
Have you been there? Are you in a season right now that looks nothing like you expected? Does darkness seem to be looming over some area of your life? Do you feel the sting of the uncertainty that lies ahead?
When we are protected by the hand of God, change and an uncertain future isn’t nearly as scary.
A new season is on its way.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. — Isaiah 43:18–19
Since the beginning of time, God has been in the business of turning darkness to light. He won’t stop now!
Sometimes that journey is long and exhausting; sometimes it happens in the blink of an eye. Sometimes we see the outcome, and sometimes we put our faith in the things unseen.
But Jesus has not left us without hope. He is life and light.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. — John 1:5
As I sit here with my son, recovering on the sofa with his leg elevated and bored out of his mind, I ache for him, but I am full of hope for him. My hope isn’t in him playing again (though I believe he will). My hope isn’t in a speedy recovery (though I bet he’ll beat the odds). My hope isn’t in the path being easy (though he’ll likely make it look that way).
My hope is in the truth that my son cannot be separated from the hand of God because of Jesus in his life.
As children of God, we have been rescued!
We are no longer separated from the life-giver;
— no longer strangers to His promises;
— no longer far off;
— no longer without hope.
We should not live as if He hasn’t rescued us.
He is for you and not against you. — Romans 8:31
He has plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. — Jeremiah 29:11
He came that you may have life and have it abundantly. — John 10:10
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. — John 16:33
Our current situation is a small example of “trouble in this world.” But that trouble pales in comparison to the hope we have in Him — the knowledge that God is faithful in every circumstance—and He will not let us go.
We all grieve when we have loss. But even in grief, we have hope.
We do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. — 1 Thessalonians 4:13
My son’s recovery story is just beginning. It hasn’t been easy. It won’t be easy. And as I sit here writing this, I wonder what the next weeks and months will hold. My heart longs for his speedy recovery, and I desperately want him to be happy and to feel strong. That’s why this everlasting hope—one that does not disappoint—is so palpable right now.
Hope is rising up out of despair.
I’m deeply thankful for God’s spiritual gift of undeniable hope in the midst of a physical struggle. When God is for us, who can be against us?
As children of God, we have hope. Cling to Him in the midst of your worldly troubles—He has overcome the world.
As I always say, when we engage faith in Jesus, we make the most of life. There is more to our story than what meets the eye; God meets us in our hard places and leads us into a life we didn’t even know to ask for. Trust and obey—He will carry us.
If this message encouraged you, share it with someone walking through a hard season. Let’s remind one another that God’s plans are still good—even when ours fall apart.
