Whirlwind or flat calm? Who is shaping your plans?

Just over two years ago, on 4 July 2024, Sir Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to a decisive general election victory. After 14 years in opposition, the party won 411 seats and a large parliamentary majority, giving him a clear mandate to govern. Yet the honeymoon period was incredibly brief. By the autumn, pressure was already building, and by the summer of 2026 he had stepped aside as Prime Minister.

During much of that same period, Andy Burnham appeared to be flourishing away from Westminster. As Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017, he had built a strong profile, not least during the pandemic, when he was widely dubbed the “King of the North”. A former MP and minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, he had seemed to find a different kind of political voice outside the Westminster bubble.

Then everything changed with remarkable speed. Having left Parliament in 2017, Burnham returned to the Commons only after winning the Makerfield by-election on 18 June. Within weeks he was Labour leader, elected unopposed after securing overwhelming support from Labour MPs, and on 20 July he became Prime Minister. Whatever this new season in UK politics holds, there is no doubt that it arrived in a whirlwind.

Former UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson is often credited with the saying “A week is a long time in politics”. Recent events have certainly proved the point. Such rapid change has prompted me to reflect on what this might mean for those of us who serve away from the corridors of power. However much I might try to avoid the label, I am definitely middle-aged. This stage of life brings different conversations from those I used to have. Friends talk about finding their forever home, making wise long-term investments, and shaping the next few years so they feel as secure and comfortable as possible. In contrast to the turbulence of Downing Street, much of this sounds predictable, settled and safe.

There is nothing wrong with planning wisely. Scripture commends prudence, and none of us should confuse faith with carelessness. Yet discipleship has never been a call to build a life so tightly organised that the Lord’s interruptions become inconvenient. The Christian life is an adventure of trust, and part of following Jesus is remaining open to whatever He may ask of us next.

Some people would love to know exactly what the days ahead hold, but that is not me. Even if I could see the next decade, I am not sure I would want to. Perhaps some of us need to be more open to the possibility that the Lord may move suddenly in our situation too. Things may yet look very different from what we expected. It may be time to write some of our desires and plans in pencil when we have previously written them in indelible ink. We must allow the Lord to shape our plans in the days ahead.

I am sure that a year ago Andy Burnham did not know his life would change as rapidly as it has. Perhaps he hoped for the outcome he is living in; perhaps not. Either way, in a matter of weeks his whole world shifted. I wonder what changes the Lord may have for each of us. Where do we need to remain available to what He wants to do in us and through us? Could there be “suddenly” moments ahead that alter more than we could possibly imagine?

Whatever the days ahead hold, whether they follow our carefully made plans or take us by surprise, we can take comfort from the familiar promise of Proverbs 3v5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”