GOD'S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE

''For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.''
Jeremiah 29:11

No one knows you like God does. He’s known about you since before time began. He was present at your birth, and he’s been intimately acquainted with every detail of your life right up until now. He’s aware of your weaknesses as well as your strengths. He knows your fears and your joys. He knows how to make your life fulfilling and how to make it really count for something. That’s why he has plans for you. He didn’t create you, then abandon you to figure out life as you go along. He loves you far too much for that!

God has a perfect plan for your life. It’s tailored just for you. It matches the things He’s building into your character right now. The plan he has for you is not the same as His plans for your friends. All of your experiences, both good and bad, fits into His plans. The promises He has made to you and the things He has taught you are part of His design for your life.

How tragic to live your life and accomplish all your own goals, yet never discovering what could have been if you had sought God’s direction! Be sure to spend time consulting the Master in your decisions. He will show you options you never considered. You will have no regrets when you allow God to direct your steps, for His path leads to abundant life (John 10:10)

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined

to be conformed to the image of His Son,
that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called;
whom He called, these He also justified;
and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Romans 8:29-30

Remember, your life is a part of God’s grand design. God had a plan for your life since before time began. Your life, therefore, has a destiny. Christ is the model upon which the Father is developing your life. You are meant to have a relationship with the Father that is as intimate as the relationship between Jesus and the Father (John 17:21). Every event He allows into your life is designed to make you more like Christ.

God’s call came when He invited you to join Him in the process! His call was extremely personal, designed specifically for your response. How wonderful to realize that at a particular moment in history, almighty God spoke personally to you and invited you to become His child!


What could be possibly stopping men from realizing their destiny with God? Because of sin, people could never live blamelessly. But God forgave your sin and justified you, declaring you righteous. All the spiritual debt you carried with Him was forgiven, and you were freed to enjoy God and to serve Him for the rest of eternity. In Biblical times, the glory of God’s people was His presence. You, too, are glorified because the fullness of God now dwells within you, and you will one day be with Him (Col. 1:27; 2:9). He invites you to join Him in working out His will in your life—conforming you to His image (Phil. 2:12).

God has a glorious design for you. Your task in life is discover what He has purposed in your life.
Do not let it pass. Find out what God has destined you to be.

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IMPRESSING GOD WITH WHAT WE DO

At times we feel as if we could impress God with all we are trying to do for Him and His church. Yet God has yet to be impressed with even the most grandiose human aspirations. (Psalms 8:3-4). We can never set a goal so big or attempt a task so significant that God does not have something far greater than He Could do in and through your life. Saul of Tarsus worked harder than anyone else to impress God with his efforts, only to discover that his greatest achievements were but rubbish compared to God's will for his life. (Phil 3:7-8). Can we really impress God with what we do? Our problem is that we become too easily enamored with our own plans. If we are attempting to do noble or difficult things, we assume that we must be experiencing the maximum potential for our lives and that God must, therefore, be pleased with us. Think about what Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:20: "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us." Until we have heard from God, we cannot even imagine all that our lives could become or all that God could accomplish through us. We need to remind ourselves that the Father sees the "big picture," that His power far exceeds our limited imagination. We must set aside our own agenda, however lofty. We must never become satisfied with our own dreams, for they are finite at best. When we follow God's direction we will witness things happening in our lives that can only be explained by His powerful presence. How could we be satisfied with anything less?

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GOD GRANTS THE DESIRES OF OUR HEART

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." [Psalms 37:4] This verse sounds too good to be true. The Lord will give us whatever we want? But God is not a heavenly Santa Claus who always delivers everything on our wish list. Neither is He an indulgent grandparent who lives to spoil the grandkids by giving all we want. Nor is God a weak parent who, annoyed by whining and tears, gives in to us to keep the peace. So what does this verse mean? God will give you the desires of your heart, but the prerequisite is setting your heart to delight His ways. Are you able to do that, to rejoice in the things that give God joy? Is your heart broken by agonies in the world, by the very things that break God's heart? Is regular time with your Lord nourishment for your soul? Do you love being in His presence in times of worship, both corporate and private? As you delight yourself in the Lord in these and other ways, God adjusts your heart to be in tune with His. Then the longings that grow in your hearts --- the seeds of which are sown during your time with your heavenly Father --- will be His desires for you. And of course He will satisfy that godly hunger.

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THE HEART OF A CHRISTIAN

"Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble"
Proverbs 28:14

Why is it that some people can go through life's dark valleys and never lose their faith in God, while others turn their backs on God at the first sign of hardship? It’s the same reason some people can run a marathon, while others can’t climb a flight of stairs without stopping to catch their breath. It all depends on the condition they’re in. A marathon runner doesn’t start out as a marathon runner. She works her way training her body little by little until she can endure the grueling intensity of a twenty-six-mile race. If she tried to run the race with no training, her body wouldn’t know how to handle it, and it would shut down. The reason some people can trust God when big problems come is that they’ve been trusting him all along in the little things. They’ve conditioned their hearts by spending regular time with God. They’ve watched him at work all around them, and they’ve listened to his voice, even when there was no crisis. Others may have gradually turned away from God, possibly without even realizing it. They found it more comfortably to stay in bed than to get up and spend time with God. Their non-believing friends ridiculed them for their involvement with Christians, so they gradually pulled out of church. Before they knew it, their hearts were no longer sensitive to God’s leading, and they no longer heard his voice. When a crisis hit, they found themselves alone and in trouble. Take an honest look at your own heart’s condition. Is your heart tender toward God, or are you pulling away from him? If you sense cynicism creeping into your life, spend some quality time meditating on God’s Word. Read the Bible. And pray that God will soften your heart so you can stay with him for the whole race.

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