“God has a plan for your life.” You hear this message all the time by pastors and teachers, many of which have good intentions. But is it true? Or rather should I say, is what they are really implying, true?
After the election of 2020, Paul Batura wrote an article published in FoxNews on November 15, 2020, God and our election: What role did He play? In it he says this:
I firmly believe that regardless of political outcomes, God has a plan for your life and for mine. He is always working — we just can’t always see what He’s doing.
Now this is an example of a “plan” that is not biblical. He implies that we cannot see this plan. Why? Because as he says, “we just can’t always see what He’s doing”. Therefore he is not referring to a biblical plan, but rather a human plan based on our experiences as a Christian during the present evil age, where God may vindicate Himself in our life after some unknown period of time here. That is total nonsense! Now let me tell you about God’s plan for your life that is true and that you can know NOW and know it COMPLETELY and no mystery is involved. There is a very popular scripture among Christians in Romans 8:28 that says this
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
But here is the kicker: The very next scripture, Romans 8:29 says this:
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Slam Dunk! The plan for each of us is not some mystery that will reveal itself in time while we are still on the earth during the “evil age”. It is something that started the minute we got saved and continues up to the present time and into the future:
Being conformed to the Image of His Son
That is God’s plan for your life: to be changed by God’s Spirit into the Image of Christ. This is not dependent on our circumstances. In fact, those circumstances are a part of this transformation process. It is not about getting out of our circumstances and then seeing God’s purpose for our life. As Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13 NLT:
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ,[d] who gives me strength.
And again various renditions of 1 Corinthians 7:24 indicate that we should not seek to change our circumstances or state once we become saved. Instead we are told to wait on God all the time.
NIV: “Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.”
ESV: “So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.”
KJV: “Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.”
NASB: “Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.”
NLT: “Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you.”
CSB: “Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called.
So let’s be done with this foolish talk about “knowing God’s plan for your life” as if it were some kind of mystery to be revealed to us after some unspecified period of time. Instead, let us embrace the Plan that is always before us, that does not change, and one we can count on, that God will continue His Good Work in us until that day when we meet Him.
Philippians 1:6 NLT: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Hebrews 12:2 KJV: Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Psalm 138:8 NLT: The Lord will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever…
So what can we expect during our sojourning here on Earth during the evil age: God’s Peace along with trials and sorrows. John 16:33 says:
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Yes, take heart, because as He overcame the world, so Christ in us will overcome the world too! Keep the Faith, fellow brothers and sisters, because we have a great reward waiting for us if we do not give up. Let’s end with one more scripture, Hebrews 10:35 NLT
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!
Hello … good subject matter here. Like a diamond, so many facets to peer into the beautiful light of God’s glory and revelation. As I was reading the different ideas presented here, a passage out of Proverbs came to mind………It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, it is the honor of kings to search out a matter…Proverbs 25:2. When I consider that proverb, I picture our heavenly Father in His greatness, not having a need to ‘show off’ as well as His sense of revealing life as we go along……almost as if part of the enjoyment of life was to ‘discover’ that which God would bring about as days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, etc, etc, etc,……Something to add here, He is the Alpha/Omega, the beginning/end. Because of his sheer greatness and preeminence, all of our days have been written in His books, YET, we do not know what those days will bring. Its almost as if there is an element to our lives where we get the privilege of finding out what Father God has for all of us in the coming days. He is the only being great enough in all ways to KNOW the beginning, the middle, and the end. In our finite state, one of the blessings in life is the discovery of life itself and all that means.
I would have to agree with your premise that God’s will ongoing, is for us to be conformed(shaped) to the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus. That is an absolute truth that cannot be debated regarding all Christians. In the matter of daily life and events that come our way, the concepts surrounding the idea of seeing God in the midst of our daily lives, I am convinced that context is so important.
A point to consider here………the passage out of ICorinthians 7 where Paul is addressing the Corinthian believers and he tells them to stay in the same manner as when they became children of God……If you consider the context and why he was telling them this, the Corinthian believers were struggling with the issue of believers/unbelievers being unequally yoked and a number of them decided it was ‘Gods Plan’ to divorce their unbelieving spouses in light of their ‘new birth’ and the calling of God that brought about new priorities in their lives. The apostle was basically telling them they needed to stay with their unbelieving spouses and in the bigger picture, they needed to stay as they were when saved. I don’t believe this means that all of the single people were to stay that way through the rest of their lives……unless they discerned the grace of God in their lives to do so. In another related passage in the same book, Paul states that he wishes all men would be like him in this regard but that one has this calling, and another has that calling, all of which is based on the grace of God in each believer’s lives. I think we can mention here a passage out of the gospels where Jesus told his disciples to ….”Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you…. If you consider that passage, the burden of discerning where our next meal was coming from, what house we were going to move into next, what job should I take next week, etc., etc., etc…it was Gods duty to show us all where our supply is, what plow we are to put our hands too, who we would be connected too, basically, it was Gods role to be concerned about the things in life we needed and wanted and for us to focus on Him and the pursuit of His righteousness in all of our lives as we lived day today.
Regarding events such as the election, and knowing what God is doing……….. He does not do anything without revealing what He is doing except through His servants, the prophets. I believe in this regard, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. There are those of us that God has given the gift, or grace, of prophetic ministry and office. It is evident through both old and new testament scripture that He has given His people prophets who have been gifted in the manner of discerning, among other things, coming events. I believe that He has provided those within the Body of Christ, the prophetic ministry and calling today as He did back then. As an example, recently, I saw a video of a brother who was given an open vision by the Lord and in this vision, the Lord showed him specific events and situations in the context of this current election mess we are going through. Part of that message had to do with the fact that God has allowed the deceptions, lies, and voter fraud to come to light because He is going to use it to hook those who perpetrated these things and bring their dark deeds into the light in such a way as to deal with them according to His righteousness. In other words, those who perpetrated the systematic fraud that has been seen across this nation in this election will be brought to task by their own hand. They will be caught in their own net, so to speak. Without going into those details, my spirit bore witness, as I listened to these different prophetic messages, that God is going to do some very big things, very soon, and that things are not as they appear to be at the moment. I use this as an example because many of us cant ‘see’ what Father God is doing behind the scenes oftentimes, and we don’t know what God’s ‘will’ is when it comes to different details regarding the ‘bigger picture’. It is imperative that those who are called in the offices and giftings that He has provided, to walk in faithfulness to those callings because God will reveal what I refer to as His ‘ongoing’ will through those He has called to be His mouthpiece.
Going back to the beginning of what your subject matter is dealing with, I believe there is a definite will of God we can and should all know and be assured of as you state, being conformed to the image of Christ. I also believe there is an element of not knowing what God’s will is in different situations and that He uses that dynamic to keep us dependent upon Him for direction, discernment, and overall guidance in our lives. In some ways, I even think God loves to play ‘hide and seek’ in some ways, and that we oftentimes miss the enjoyment of the pursuit of God’s will in different ways in our lives.
I hope my long-windedness has not contributed in a negative way here and that these ideas are in some way helpful to broaden our understanding. God bless you brother, keep me posted on new posts.
TLC