Trying to Find God’s Special Plan for Your Life Might Mislead You
My heart aches for people when they say they wish they could find God’s plan for their life, as though there is one single elusive thing they are meant to do and if they miss it they might forever be consigned to a second-rate life. God has many plans for us, and two big plans come first.
I once knew a young woman who was very focused on finding God’s plan for her life. Her desire to do this was so strong that it sometimes seemed to paralyze her thinking. Fortunately, she kept responding to the actual opportunities she encountered, including by singing in the church choir; and I believe that she is today singing with the angels.
Wanting to fulfill God’s plan is a wonderful desire. It signals that your heart is in the right place: that you want to do God’s will and let him have decision-making authority in your life.
But thinking that God just has one big plan for you can rob you of the joy that comes with doing the everyday acts of love that Jesus wants us to do (John 15:11-12). We might spend so much time looking for cryptic “signs” that we miss the smaller moments where God would love to see us do some good, or we might start jumping at opportunities that don’t fit the particular talents and desires that God has endowed us with, or we might become so paralyzed that we do nothing at all as we search for God’s big revelation of that one plan.
The truth is this: God does not have just one plan for our lives, he has many. That is why he says:
“For I know the plans [plural] I have for you, declares the Lord.” (Jer. 29:11)
Not only does God have a variety of plans for us, but many of those plans also have sub-plans. And God is never stumped. He adapts in response to our choices. And even when we don’t fully cooperate with the plans he has already revealed to us, with God there is always a next step.
God’s plans for your life
God’s first and most fundamental plan for our lives is this: We are called to believe in God’s love for us; acknowledge that we are not perfect but that God has a plan for our sinfulness; believe in Jesus and accept his death and resurrection as the way that God has opened the path for us to have an intimate, personal relationship with God; and make a choice to give our lives to Jesus and allow him to be the Lord of our lives as we follow him. God has already taken the initiative. Our invitation is to allow the plan to become a reality in our lives by saying yes to God.
But wait, you might say. That’s not what I'm talking about. I mean the specific, individual plan God has for my life.
You’re right that there’s more. The fundamental plan of God that we become followers of his Son Jesus is only the start. It’s the foundation. But God does have more plans for us.
God’s next big plan for us is that we take on the very character of Jesus and become one with him. We were made in the image of God, and God desires to see that image restored and perfected so that when people look at us, they see him. God has sent his Holy Spirit to dwell within us (John 14:15-17) in order to perfect us from the inside out. He wants us to be transformed into the image of Christ. Paul refers to this goal in one way or another in almost every one of his letters – for example, in 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 8:29 and 12:2; Colossians 3:10; Galatians 2:20; and Ephesians 4:24.
This second big plan God has for our lives is not a one-time decision but a choice that we keep making, day after day, as we cooperate with God throughout our lives. If we embrace this plan, then almost every moment of our lives becomes an opportunity to act on some part of God’s plan for our lives: to do something kind or loving for someone, to let the Holy Spirit inspire us to say something special (or to keep our mouth shut when only negative things would come out), to turn our mind and heart to God, to let him shape our thinking and help us become more like Jesus, to be steadfast in adversity, to be humble in triumph, to be kind and compassionate toward everyone.
Every moment is a chance to fulfill God’s plan that we be like Jesus.
No, you might say. That’s not what I'm talking about. That’s for everyone. I want to know the one unique, special thing that God has planned for me to do in my life.
Does God have one special plan for your particular life?
If you are doing your best to embrace the first two big plans God has for your life, you are in a good place to recognize any special work that God wants you to do. And someday, you might look back and conclude that some particular work was your life purpose. But it’s usually not that simple.
Consider my life, for example:
What is (or was) God’s special plan for my life?
Was it when I had the opportunity, right out of college, to start a youth ministry program at my church and serve as its first Youth Minister?
Was it the 40+ years and still counting of marriage to my best friend, with whom I have been involved in many forms of Christian service?
Was it the 3 children we raised?
Was it the work I did for a member of Congress that helped expand access to healthcare and provide greater justice and equity for the less fortunate members of our society?
Was it my service as a teacher in an inner-city high school?
Was it when my lifelong desire to be a “Renaissance man” who knows a little bit about everything led to my being invited to teach a course that required a teacher with wide interests, a course that had a lasting impact in the lives of some of my students?
Is it my 40+ years of leading Bible Studies?
Is it my current work as Founder and Author of Faith Explored?
Is it something yet to come?
Or is it possible that we are asking the wrong question when we ask, “What is God’s special plan for my life?” Maybe that puts the focus in the wrong place. Perhaps, beyond the first two big plans God has for our lives (to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to allow God to transform us into his image), God has many plans and purposes for us, and they come into play at different times in our lives.
The young friend I mentioned at the beginning of this article – what was God’s special plan for her? Her life was cut short before it became obvious to her – she died of brain cancer a few years after I met her. But her unabashed love for God and desire to serve him, her joy in singing his praises, and her ability to keep trying to be whatever God desired her to be in the midst of her suffering – weren’t all of these things part of God’s special plan for her?
God did not inflict cancer on her. But her continual decisions to live according to God’s purposes, even in the face of cancer, allowed God to work for good in her life just as Paul tells us in Romans 8:28:
We know that God works all things together for good for those who love God, those being called according to his purpose.
A more powerful question to ask
When we search for God’s special plan for our lives, we tend, figuratively, to put the transmission of our lives in neutral while we wait.
Here is a more powerful question we can ask:
What are some of the specific things God would like to accomplish in me and through me right now, in this phase of my life?
Asking the question in this way keeps us more open to the variety of things God might like to do in us and through us. It keeps us open to the possibility that a special plan will emerge for a particular season of our life, while also keeping us on the lookout for smaller ways we can carry out God’s plans in the meantime. It keeps our spiritual transmission firmly in gear.
What if . . . ?
Suppose that God does have one big, extra-special plan for you. If and when that door opens and you are able to move forward in that special plan, it is only the beginning, not the end of the process.
Stay tuned for part 2, where we will explore these questions:
How do I know that my desire, which seems to be being fulfilled, is actually from God?
And if it is from God, then what? What do I do next to stay in God’s plan?
In the meantime, check yourself regarding God’s first two big plans.
How are you cooperating in God’s plan of salvation: Are you embracing God’s love, accepting the forgiveness and freedom from sin that Jesus offers by his death and resurrection, and making a genuine effort to let him be the Lord of your life?
How are you cooperating with God as the Holy Spirit works in you and through you? Are you allowing him to transform you into the image of Christ?
What can you do to take a deeper step with God, so that you are ready for the next plans God has for you, whether they include that big, special plan you hope for or something more mundane?
Comments