God’s Plan for Me is Good
Since God is sovereign and wise and good and just and care so much, we need to lean into the plan and purpose that God has for us. This is the faith we claim to have in God. Faith that he will carry us through. Is God good? He is good, the question is ‘do we believe it?’ He is sovereign, do we believe it? Do we believe that all of this life, the good the bad and the ugly are part of his plan? Part of His good plan for us? Do we believe that His plans are to prosper us and give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)? That is trusting God.
God turns bad to good
When we sit in the midst of all the negativity, the sickness, the loneliness, the nos of life, do we truly believe that He works good from this, He intends good from this? Have you been abandoned by family? God led Joseph into good even though his family not only abandoned him but sold him into slavery. Have you been stuck in a situation with no apparent way out and the powerful people against you? God led Esther to not only freedom, but all of her people. Have you been in job that you don’t like and no possible alternative? God led Rahab out of her dead-end job and into a new life, even making her one of the women of the lineage of Jesus.
His purpose will not be thwarted
God had a purpose and plan for each of these people, for each of these scenarios. He has a plan for you too. Job lost everything he had, his children, livestock, health. He had nothing left. His wife even turns against him and his (their?) beliefs. But in the last chapter of the story of Job, he understands something, ‘I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted,’ (Job 42:2). No plan of God’s can be thwarted. This verse alone has enlightened me; it seems to scream to me ‘why are you so discontent when I love you and my good purpose will be fulfilled, perhaps even through all the pain, all the bad and the incomprehensible?’
You see, a good plan does not mean that all is smooth and easy. The Bible does not tell of people who lived their whole lives without trouble, sorrow, pain, and sin. It tells the story of people who have made mistakes, fallen down, and sought God to come out right. It is a combination of who we are, our fallen nature, and the good that God works in us to become more like Him. The bad that we go through, the evil that works around us, draws us near to Him, into intimacy. He sought intimacy with Adam in the garden and continues to seek it today. He prepared everything for Adam and Eve before they were created. And He has done the same for us. He has a plan, a good plan, that works in love for our good.
Persevere in God’s good plan for you
This plan, if not smooth, is then pocked with adversity. And that is when trust becomes forged into steel. We know in our heads the reasons why we can trust God; we must then carry it out, walk in faith. We must persevere when the adversity perseveres. The reasoning in our heads must grow in our hearts to a firm and steadfast trust that God is good and carries out His good plan for me. In persevering, we know that our faith is increased, our heavenly reward is too, but more than anything, we know that we walk more closely to Him. Like the poem Footprints in the Sand, He carries us through as we cling to Him. Perseverance is not an alone thing; He walks with us, carries us, comforts us, loves us. God has promised to never leave us, that the comforter is within us. When we are facing adversity, big and small, we know that ‘He who promised is faithful,’ (Hebrews 10:23) and will carry out His good for me and for you.
