What’s the
Plan? In His Word 4-17-2023
Sometimes life just seems to have gone haywire. We loose loved ones to illnesses or worse, or our homes are destroyed in a storm. It is often hard for us to believe but, God has a plan for us, we are told this all the time. The Jeremiah 29:11 verse is repeated so much we can all quote it, I am sure. Reading further in the Word I found that our plans are weak in comparison to God’s plan. Our biggest plan for our life is worthless unless God has his say in it. Now there are some who would say He has His say regardless but I believe sometimes we cause our own delays. I think we often run headlong into life without stopping to think about it.
But to those
called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God
and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan
of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger
than the greatest of human strength. Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few
of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called
you. 1 Corinthians 1:24-26
It is better
to ask God before you do something, new or even reinventing yourself as they
say. Seek the Lord while He may be found,
because He probably has some input to give you about any given situation if you
just ask Him about it.
In my case after
salvation, I was provided with friends who helped me along the way to a life career
in teaching, and writing. The funny thing was that I was on one track before I
accepted that I believed in Christ; I was attempting to have an exciting life of
fun and adventure on a cruise ship. I went to college to learn transportation and
tourism and somehow accepted the Lord in the mean time. One day between
semesters I applied for a job as a teacher helper at a Montesori preschool and
at a pizza place. I worked hard to get my tuition paid. Somewhere in there God
had a plan. I got saved, I got baptized and I got another job at a Christian
Preschool all connected to God’s plan. I ended up going to the church where I
was baptized, and through that I met a woman who let me board with her one
summer and eventually was taken in as part of the family when I met her oldest
son. It was all part of God’s plan!
Since I was
so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing
by visiting you twice— first on my way to Macedonia and again when I returned
from Macedonia. Then you could send me on my way to Judea. You may be asking
why I changed my plan. Do you think I make my plans carelessly? Do you think I
am like people of the world who say “Yes” when they really mean “No”? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you
does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not
waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached
to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. 20 For all of
God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And
through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory. 2
Corinthians 1: 15-20
We can make our plans, but God orders our steps. Proverbs 16:9
What you
ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise,
you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is
evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
James 4:15-17.
So, like it says
in James 4 up there we should not make plans without consulting our personal Assistant!
The Holy Spirit, comforter, God with us; you get the picture. Our lives will go
much smoother when we don’t bolt out like a bull in a pen, but instead take the
time to seek God for peace in a situation.
For I know
the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for
disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
No matter what His plans are, or how they change
suddenly, we need to remember also how things went with Joseph. God gave him
dreams, that made him think it would be instant, but reality was he had to be sold
as a slave, and a servant, put in jail and falsely before he became the head of
the family as the dreams told him. Something to think about is that God does
things in our lives that we do not always understand, but the most important
thing is to remember that all things work together to the good of the Kingdom,
and He who called us knows better than we do what is best. Once we just accept
that point, things get a little easier to understand even if they still hurt
and are a struggle to get through; God is always with us.
In His Love