I’ve recently started a study of the Book of Romans, a part of Scripture that’s almost as familiar to me as the back of my hand (as the saying goes). But, one of my favorite things about studying the Bible is God’s never-ceasing ability to make well-known passages new again and to reveal fresh truths where you’d least expect it.

Case in point:

As I sat down to start at the beginning, Romans chapter 1, I let my eyes wash over the page. I’m one of those people who likes to mark and annotate in my Bible (I know, I know–I just made half of you cringe) and, sure enough, there were several verses underlined. Old favorites like:

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (1:16).

“The righteous will live by faith” (1:17b).

And:

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (1:20).

I’m sure if you’ve been in church for any amount of time or done any basic Bible study, at least one of those verses is familiar to you. I love them. They are powerful harbingers of truth, the type of words that make you want to read them a couple times just to soak in what Paul is trying to convey. I found myself speed-reading to get to their meat.

So imagine my surprise when God stopped me in my tracks.

Not at one of these “amen!” type verses I’d highlighted and underlined. But somewhere else. Somewhere seemingly mundane and innocuous. Somewhere still in the GREETING of Paul’s letter, way before I reached the so-called “good stuff.”

It was verse 13:

“I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.”

Huh?

If you’re asking that, don’t feel alone. I did too.

Why that verse, God? Why are my eyes being continuously drawn to those particular words? It’s just Paul, talking to the Romans, telling them about his personal plans. There’s no deep spiritual truth in them. Give me something good, God. Let me meditate on one of the dozens or so other verses just waiting for me.

But it was this verse. Over and over and over, I kept getting the sense: it’s this verse. This is what God wants me to meditate on today, to mull over, to learn.

And finally, it hit me:

Paul’s plan to go to Rome wasn’t a bad one. In fact, it was a God-honoring one, one meant to do God’s work of spreading the gospel to even more Gentiles while also strengthening the faith of those already converted. It was a good thing.

But that didn’t mean it was a God thing.

In fact, despite these excellent intentions, we see that Paul’s plans were thwarted, more than likely over and over again. God did not allow these trips to come into fruition. Paul was “prevented” from going to Rome. Though we don’t know the physical reasons, we can know that, whatever they were, they were circumstances filtered through God’s hands. He allowed them.

I’m oversimplifying here, but Paul’s plan to travel and spread the gospel was stopped by God.

What gives?

And that’s what God was trying to get me to understand. Just because your plans are for God doesn’t mean they are God’s plans. He has purposes and reasons beyond our limited scope of understanding.

If Paul had been allowed to travel to Rome before this point, he might have been able to minister to a couple hundred Gentiles. He might have done some great work for God in that countryside. But, if he had been able to travel, he might not have ever written this letter to the Romans. This letter that, so full of grace and truth, became a part of the Scriptures and has reached countless millions over the centuries.

Paul’s plans were good. But God’s plans were great.

I’ve been struggling with this a lot lately. There are so many things I want to do–good things–that just aren’t seeming to work out for various reasons. It’s frustrating. I’ve been feeling thwarted. Stuck. Stagnant. Wondering what it is God wants me to do and when.

And then, as He always does, God shows up in an innocent looking verse and blows me over with truth.

Just because my plans didn’t work didn’t mean they weren’t good. It just means that God has something better. And if I remain steadfast, eyes, ears, and heart open, I will eventually learn what that thing is.

So take heart, friends. Wait on God. And never neglect your Scriptures. You never know what He might reveal.