God's Plan

There is a conversation with my uncle that I replay in my head over and over. He was recalling a situation that he witnessed over the last few months that had played out on Facebook of all places.

A young couple had gotten married after a few months, stating that they believed it was "God's will". However, after about a year (or less) they got a divorce.

"That wasn't a wise decision", he said, shaking his head.

Rather unwisely, I replied, "Did they ask the Lord what his will was?"

For some reason, this is the part that sticks with me, even to this day, years later.

"That's the thing. People say they know what God's will is, but how can you be sure you can really know what it is?"

Meekly I replied, "That's fair. I don't know..."

At this point, I was a bit uncomfortable because I didn't realize what was meant by "the will of God" or "God's plan". (I also knew that my uncle has been hurt by the church in the past, and I didn't want to somehow add anymore to that.)

Still, he brought up a good point.

What is God's will for our lives? What path does he want us to walk, anyway?

I've been pondering this for the last few years, especially as I've seen so many people move on from their lives as college students into full-fledged adulthood. Like the seasons, we all are swept along by the tides of change, and we often find ourselves wondering what life has in store for us.

Wisdom and Understanding

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” - ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Knowing the will of God goes hand in hand with having wisdom and understanding. God promises that if we trust in him, then he will make our paths straight. However, I learned that there is a caveat to this. Not only do we have to trust the Lord, we also have to shun evil, and then submit what we believe is wisdom and goodness to what God says this is.

We also can’t be wise in our own eyes, meaning we can’t be haughty and prideful, believing we truly know everything. Like the Pharisees the Jesus contended with, we can’t let our own pride blind us to what God may be doing in our lives.

God Wants the Best for Us

(If we seek him)

 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

We've probably heard Jeremiah 29:11 over and over again, whether it be on a cheesy Hallmark card or on the back of a football player's jersey. Jeremiah 29:11 is up there with John 3:16 and Philippians 4:13 in how cliche it's become. Depending on how much of the Bible you know, you may have even groaned to yourself.

However, when Jeremiah 29:11 is taken in its context, it's actually a beautiful passage. It was written when the people of Judah were exiles in Babylon. When they thought they had no hope left, God, through Jeremiah told them to "build houses; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.  Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Jerusalem Has Fallen to Babylon: Despair & Hope

Learn more about the harsh reality of Israel's Exile

https://bibleproject.com/articles/jerusalem-fallen-despair-hope/

God is telling the people to settle in their place of exile until 70 years have gone by. Then, God will bring them out of exile and return the remnant to Jerusalem.

It is after this that we get Jeremiah 29:11-14:

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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

God promised the Israelites that if they sought God, he would be found by them.

Now, what does this have to do with us? After all, we're not in exile. If you're reading this, you're probably wealthier than a majority of the world.

However, we can trust that God has good intentions for us, even though our world confusing and tumultuous. All we have to do is truly seek him, and he promises that he will be found.

This leads me to my next point:

God Will Direct Your Steps

(If You're Seeking Him)

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
- Psalm 37:23

We might not know exactly what God has in store for us, but we can know that if we are truly seeking him, that he will direct our steps to where we need to go.

This is something I struggle with, because ever since I became a Christian, I've been taught that God's will is very specific. What I mean by that is, God has a specific job, a specific major, and a specific person for you to marry. If you don't pray to him about these very specific things, then you might miss out on his plan for your life. It was very scary to me because I didn't want to miss out on what his will was. After all, what if I picked the wrong major? What if I had the wrong job? I would spend many days asking God to just tell me what he wanted from my life, down to every last detail.

However, I don't think that these things are what God's will really is. I'm not a theologian, but I have a feeling that God's will has a lot more with us being in relationship with him, seeking him out, and then having the rest of those things follow from it.

I think that's why we have a hard time discovering God's will for our lives; we see the end product (that job, major, or spouse) as God's will, when it's really for us to become more Christlike and spiritually mature first.

When I found this out, I was actually a lot less afraid that I would somehow miss God's will, because God's will all along was for us to be his friends.

This was all mostly a personal reflection, but if you're interested more in this topic, I'd suggest the article below, which I found really helpful!

What is God’s Will for My Life? - Looking Upward

When I was in college, I struggled with not knowing God’s will about my future career. The common question What do you plan to do after graduation? triggered shame and anger. As time went on and I still lacked clarity, I began to feel as if the Lord just didn’t care about my future and would never give me direction.…

https://lookingupward.org/2020/06/05/what-is-the-will-of-god/