The Plan for Your Life (Part 3 of 3)
November 17, 2020
In my last two posts, I talked about God’s general plans for our lives and God’s special individual assignments. Today in our final post on this topic, I want to talk about God’s overall plan for your life. The great thing about a plan is that no matter how old you are, you can find out what this plan is and work it. You are never too late for God to do a great work in you. Oh, sure, you could have missed opportunities along the way, but if you turn your life over to God, regardless of your age, and do what He asks you to do, He has something important for you to do. I promise.
I hear people tell children, “You can be anything you want to be if you work hard.” That is the American dream, but it is not God’s plan. If we are people of faith, we should be saying, “You can be everything God designed you to be!” And then help them figure out what that is. A truly successful and satisfying life is a life spent pursuing God’s best for you.
It is not uncommon for people to say that they knew what God wanted them to do with their life when they were just children. Maybe they talk about being a missionary, a teacher, a business owner, or a good mom. People will often make observations about someone’s life. “I always knew someday Susie would be a teacher!”
Don’t ignore those kinds of hints or leadings about careers or life’s work. They may help you identify the gifts that God has specifically placed in you to accomplish the work he has for you to do. I used to fear the life assignment God had for me, because I thought God would ask me to go to the far reaches of the earth and be a missionary. I didn’t want to do that. Growing up, I thought God would want me to become a nun. I didn’t want to do that either. I was so afraid of what I considered an extreme assignment that I didn’t even consider He might give me a more mundane assignment, like writing books.
God works with us little by little, training us and building our confidence so that eventually – maybe years and years from now - we’re ready for the big assignment. Even if I knew God wanted me to be a missionary, He would not ask me to leave the Midwestern United States until I was prepared. We know this because this is the method Jesus used to get His disciples ready for their life’s work. He taught them privately (Mark 4:10-12, Luke 10: 23). He took them with Him when He was about to do something significant (Matthew 17:1, Luke 8:51). He sent them out on short training trips (Luke 10:1-9). He told them what they were to do following His ascension into heaven (Mark 16:15-18). He promised that He would never leave them (Hebrews 13:5). He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit to help them (John 14:26).
Jesus never changes (Hebrews 13:8). If He did it that way while He walked the earth, He will do it that way now. You might say, “Well, Julie, that was the apostles.” Yes, it was, but these are also instructions to you, because you are “those who believe” (Mark 16:17). God gets you ready for big assignments one step at a time. Each little success gives you faith to take the next step.
Don’t be afraid of the life assignment God has for you. He will prepare you because He wants you to succeed. Seek His plan, hold it in your heart, and prepare yourself little by little. In Luke 18:27, Jesus said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” What I think is extreme or impossible is not extreme or impossible for God to do that work in me.
My obedience to God’s general and individual special assignments results in a very satisfying life – better than any life I could have planned for myself. God has your back when you obey Him. He will never set you up for failure if you will follow His leading and prepare yourself as you wait for His timing. He will NEVER set you up to fail. We have a good, good God. And He has a good, good life planned for us!
