Does God Really Have a Specific Plan for Your Life?

I haven't posted recently and I apologize. I have known for quite a while the subject I felt led to write but I couldn't quite figure out how to present it.  I thought about Gideon but, he wasn't quite the right fit.  I thought about Peter and his denial of the Lord, but again, not right.  Samson wasn't it either.

Who could I find that was an example of someone who made a bad decision and God rewrote His plan for that person's life in the way I wanted to present it? No one.  Well none that presented my point the way I wanted it to.

Then I remembered a small detail about Moses, the mighty man of God.  In Exodus 2:11-22, we find the story of Moses killing an Egyptian.  Moses went out to his brethren to looked on their burden and spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew.  Moses killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 

He went out a second day and saw two Hebrews fighting and asked why they are hitting one another.  One of the Hebrews said, "Why? Do you mean to kill us as you did the Egyptian?"  This freaked Moses out because he thought he had gotten away with murder and now he knew the word was out.  He fled to Midian to escape the judgment of Pharaoh.

God ended up using Moses as He used no one else in the Bible. Moses was the greatest prophet and spoke with God face to face, Deuteronomy 34:10-11.  Now this is where it gets tricky.  Did God set Moses up or was he just a willing guy in the right place at the right time? I think it was a little of both.

I can't help thinking back to our study of Samuel. Samuel's willingness to serve God was used by God.  I do believe God called Moses. But, I don't believe God had this plan all laid out in stone for Moses' life.  I don't think it was God's will for Moses to murder a man.

Moses made a bad decision, a series of them actually.  Moses would start down a path and God would rewrite the map.  If Moses got too far out of God's will, God sent a stern reminder as He did in Exodus 4:24-26.  Moses was on his way to Egypt to show Pharaoh God's power that would end in the death of Egypt's firstborn. Remember, God had made known to Moses all He intended to do. But, Moses had not fulfilled his part of the covenant by circumcising his own firstborn  son. That was a grievous misstep on Moses' part. God came to kill (it's a study for another day who God was after) and Moses' wife, Zipporah, intervened.

The point I'm trying to make is, God used Moses regardless of his bad decisions.  God has a big picture plan and he has graciously invited us to be a part of bringing this about. Your bad decisions won't stop God's plan.

Let's not forget what Mordecai said to Esther, 

"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the  Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows by that you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14.

Mordecai was right. God was going to deliver the Jews one way or another.  Esther was given the opportunity to be God's instrument of deliverance and she took that opportunity.  Not only did God use her, but her story is preserved for all generations in the Bible, and there is a celebration feast honoring what God accomplished through her, the feast of Purim.

I think that we, as Christians, get hung up on Jeremiah 29:11 which says, 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope."

 So many people think this means God has this step by step plan all laid out for their lives.  They think every single step is dictated by God.  I don't think this is the case.  The steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord because they walk in the revelation of God's will in His word.  Not because he leads you with a leash.

This verse was specifically spoken to the Jews as a promise that God would deliver them from Babylonian captivity after their seventy years were completed.  So, we can see that this verse didn't spare the Jews from tribulation.

Do I think that we as Christians can claim this verse as a promise? Absolutely!  I just don't think we should forget that while God knows His plan for us, we tend to think it means prosperity or a life of peace.  This is not the case. Jesus never promised us these things. As a matter of fact, He promised the opposite, 

"In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!" John 16:33

What is God's plan for us then?  Can we know it?  Yes we can, by reading His word.  

"Be ye not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2 

This is God's will.

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness," 2 Timothy 2:15.  

This too, is God's will.

"And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thinks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you," 1Thessalonians 5:14-18. 

These verses, and many others, show us clearly the plan of God for our lives, ALL of our lives.  I say again, your bad decisions won't stop God from performing His will the world. If we will just walk in the word and will of God, who knows how he can use us for His kingdom and His glory. You could be the next Elijah.  So, pick yourself up, get into the word, walk in His will and be a part of the mighty works of God.