The plan of God

Step by step

Two weeks ago I posted on the will of God for our lives and basically concluded that the will of God is not so much a thing we should ask for all the time, but something we should do! God's will is a general instruction for all believers, His plan is an individual destiny or purpose for you and me. Often God's will gets confused with His plan. The plan He has for us is a different story...

His plan is not the same as His will. His will is a general instruction, but His plan is an individual destiny that fits our unique situation. Of course His plan is always part of His will for this world and mankind. The Lord will start to reveal His plan for you and me as soon as we walk in His will and act upon His will. Trying to discover and work out His plan while not being in His will is a very frustrating thing to do.

The plan of God involves various levels of life. For example, God has a plan with the universe, with this world, with Israel, with the church and with individual people. When we seriously think about that it is no more than logical that His plan for our life will always fit in the bigger plan of God. I do not know what His plan is for you, my dear reader, but I can share some characteristics of His plan:

• For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). God spoke those words to the people of Israel in exile, and His words clearly indicate the character of His plans with men. They are good and hopeful and will not harm us. Please keep that in mind when you start discovering His plan.
• But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations (Psalm 33:11). God's plan is set, it doesn't change all the time. It certainly does not bring confusion, it brings clarity. Please keep that in mind when you start discovering His plan.
• About God it is said that He summons a bird of prey and from a far-off land a man to fulfill His purpose (Isaiah 46:11). God uses individual people to brings His plan to completion. The Bible is full of examples. We all play a role in His greater plan: the salvation of all people! Please keep that in mind when you start discovering His plan.

Now, the Lord will hardly ever reveal His plan all at once, simply because it would scare us and we would try to run away from it. He will reveal His plan step by step and we can recognize these steps by checking them with His Word (His will) as we have seen above in a few examples. Is the step we are about to take positive and good? Is the step certain and ordained? Is the step part of His greater plan?

So, how do we discover the first step of God's plan for our lives? First of al: PRAYER! Ask God to reveal His first step to you. Second, it might be helpful to write down what you already know and what God has already done in your life. The following acronym will help you to get started: STEP.

S = Strengths, write down your 5 main strengths, for example: I am a good listener

T = Talents, write down your 5 main talents, things that you are good at

E = experiences, write down 5 life experiences, for example: grew up without a father

P = Passion, write down the 5 things you like to do most or would like to do most

When you start doing that, a picture will be formed. A picture that you can take to the Lord in prayer, ask Him where and how He wants to use you. You will see that soon the first step will be revealed. It is then important to take that step! Let me know if this has been of any help to you.