It's natural for us to think about such things when everything seems so up in the air. Fore me, it's because I quit my job, moved back in with my parents, and generally trying to figure out what's next in life. It's not just me though. I have friends and family searching for new jobs, getting married, having kids, changing majors and schools, and also trying to see what is coming up next.
In conversation, talk about "God's plans" comes up a lot. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people tell me "God has a plan" over the last several months. Although I can't blame them. I heard myself say that to a friend just the other day and then apologized to her for saying something so cliche.
It came up in a conversation with my mom this week. She is very much in the mindset in which God's plan is for us to be with him in heaven. Period.
Which I agree with. God's ultimate and big plans all point to Jesus and his sacrifice and resurrection so we could go to heaven. It's awesome and it's above and beyond what we need.
Yet... I can't help but wonder... "That's his only plan? Everything else in our lives he's just like 'whatevs'?" Not that he doesn't care, but he doesn't have any other plans for people at all? He knows what will happen in our lives (you know... being omniscient and all) but does that mean he didn't plan it and only knows it?
What about the people in the Bible whom God told "Go do this" or "Go to this place" or "Say this"? Wouldn't that mean God had a plan for them? Or was it just something God told them and if they had said no he would have simply moved onto someone else and the people in the Bible are just those who did say yes? (Does that make any sense?)
Maybe God has a plan for some people but not for all. That doesn't seem right either though. Would he really be that selective?
On the other hand though, I feel like we do get too wrapped up in wondering "What is God's plan for my life?". It's as though there is just ONE THING God really wants for us to do. Or we need some big sign from him to point us in a certain direction. Then we sit around around wait for him to talk to us.
A friend of mine and I were discussing this a few weeks ago and he said he feels like God sometimes is telling "Go. Just go."
Because when we have decisions to make outside of moral issues, are we worrying too much about which one God wants? Think about it. Take jobs for example. Picking between one job or the other isn't a moral issue. Both might be just as good as the other. (Unless it's like selling meth or murdering puppies something...) More than likely we aren't going to get a big sign, or even a tiny whisper, from God saying which one to do. We just have to do it and know he'll be by our side the whole time.
This isn't just about careers and jobs though. It's about relationships and where we live and how we live our day to day lives. Maybe there isn't "the one" person God has in mind for you. Or maybe there is. Maybe there isn't a specific university we should attend. Maybe there isn't a certain plan we need to live. Maybe there isn't a one path in life we need to follow.
Or maybe there are certain ones we need to follow and people we need to have relationships with and jobs we need to take because God knows it's what we need. Maybe we simply don't need to know the end result or even how it all comes together in the end.
Jesus said he came so we may have life and have it to the full.
Some people interpret that as eternal life in heaven, which is true. But what about life here? Should we only be focusing on heaven? But then what happens to things here on earth?
The verse from Jeremiah about "I know the plans I have for you..." gets thrown around a lot. I always can't help but notice the word in that phrase is "plans" - with an "s." As in plural. There isn't just one. Yet... he also was talking to the people of Israel in this passage. Are we all just taking it out of context so we can feel better about our own lives?
I'm not really sure. What do you all think?
so i normally don't chime in with posts like this because it can be misconstrued in negative ways. personally, it's great to believe in a higher power from which you can draw strength but i'm a firm believer that you create your own path in life; that you are your destiny. that you control your destiny, nothing else. when you falter or feel scared, draw from that power but it's YOU who creates your happiness.
ReplyDelete-kathy
Vodka and Soda
Life is like being a farmer: you reap what you sow. God wants you to be happy and I feel that he gives us guidance. But it's up to us to make our path to happiness.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a rough one and I still feel like I have to wonder - just keep watching for the doors opening!
ReplyDeleteMissie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Ah yes plans! It is really hard to feel like you are in his plan when you do not like ti or do not see it. I personally am so miserable with my job that it is hard to see how God would want me to be there longer, and yet all the jobs I apply for have come back with nothing. But I rest in the fact that God is doing something and I just do not know what that is yet.
ReplyDeleteI am asking the same kind of questions right now. I do feel like He has a plan for us, but sometimes I think it isn't necessarily as specific as we want to believe. It would be so much easier if there was a big voice from the sky going "Hey, do this. On X day, Y will happen." But it's not always like that.
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