"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile." Jeremiah 29: 11-14
As Christian's we are taught in many areas of the Bible that God knows His plans for us and that we are uniquely made and therefore, His plans for each of us are also unique. We have been given this verse among many, many others through this guide, so to speak, that was divinely written for us so that we can navigate through all of life's obstacles and find our way. We are taught many things by God in the Bible, such as that we are saved by grace and not by our good deeds, that as previously mentioned God has a plan for each of us, and who can forget, The Ten Commandments among many other commands that we are to abide by as followers of Christ, such as to love one another unconditionally as Christ loved us. The Bible truly is a guide to life's struggles and troubles but it is also a guide to redemption and a reminder that there is a better way to live our lives simply through Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father.
As mentioned, God has a unique plan for each of us. Though all of our plans are supposed to end with the same result, the Bible doesn't tell us exactly what our individualized plan is. It doesn't directly say to you, "Hey Amanda, you need to quit your job and go work for your friends' company." Unfortunately, though it does serve an astronomical purpose on how to live life, it just doesn't blatantly tell us what decision we should make or the details of the obstacles and struggles we're going to face. We really have no way of knowing what our life is going to look like tomorrow. Also unfortunately, this world we live in teaches us that WE have to have a plan for everything in life and it starts pretty much from the time we're born through basically the day we die. Here's a brief outline:
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Where do you want to go to college?
What career do you want to pursue?
When are you going to get married?
When are you going to buy a house?
When are you going to have a baby? (And then once we do have a baby, we're forced to plan their lives for them!)
How many kids do you want to have?
What's your 5 year plan?
What kind of health insurance do you want to purchase?
What kind of retirement plan do you want to enroll in?
When do you want retire?
Do you have life insurance?
Where do you want to be buried when you die?
I'm pretty sure you get the point that this world we live in practically forces us to make plans for our lives every. single. day. whenever we don't even know what tomorrow is going to bring! It is exhausting and frustrating. It seems as though no matter what stage in life we are in, we are faced with making a decision or a plan on how we are to proceed in order to get where we want to be. I am running out of breath and feeling tired even just reading those questions back to myself as I type (sigh)....
I am currently in the buying-a-house-having-a-baby stage of my life. I've found that the most frustrating part of this whole decision making is the pressure to have a plan and to make the right decision. It's almost as if you can't fulfill any plan in life and have just a moment to enjoy it before moving on to the next one and that sucks, quite frankly. And how do I know this is the right next step or which house is the right house? I know, I know, it's going to be an exciting time for my husband and I but it's also a very stressful time because well, we have to plan. What area of town do we want to live in? How much can we afford? How soon after do we want to try to have a baby? (Sigh... again.)
The bottom line is that every day we have to make decisions and choices whether we want to or not but it doesn't have to be as overwhelming as you may plan for because I believe God wants us to have a plan on how we're going to get on His plan . And in doing so, He'll take care of the rest. Here's how: we have to plan that we are going to remind ourselves that God is in control and allow Him to be; Plan to not worry about tomorrow, because it's not promised; plan to pray to Him, to seek Him and to trust Him to guide us in making the right choice, that He knows the plans He has for us and the desires of our hearts.
In a world that demands a plan, trust in His plan.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
