His Plan For His Own

Hindsight is always 20/20 or perfect vision. So, when the decision comes for God to share or not to share any part of His Plan for my life with me, I plead with Him to grant me a break every now-and-then and allow me to see and understand His upcoming events.

Every time I pray this, I am reminded He may or may not choose to answer in the positive, but realize this is the age of Faith. Scripture says of faith - 

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1). 

So, from this confidence, hope and assurance I stand and inquire about His Plan For His Own.

I would like to think and believe that many people and believers accept the idea of the all-knowingness of God. Some individuals, like those who ascribe to Deism, believe God created everything then stepped back and has watched everything unfold ever since with little to no involvement.

This is not who Christians worship. When joining the concepts of God's supreme knowledge, His design of all things and humanity's feeble minds - many Christians will recall Isaiah 55:8-10 -

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

God has a design, a plan for the history of humanity and creation. However, He also has a detailed, purposeful, individualistic plan for each of us, especially His own. God's knowledge and involvement on everybody's individual plan is seen in Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13.

Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Psalm 139:13 states, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb."

All this foreknowledge by God of His plans for creation, history and our personal lives places believers in the position to ask - what are your plans for me God?

To begin answering this question we must first address another question - what are our plans, especially concerning a relationship with God?

David or whoever is writing the Psalms between 20:4 and 94:11 must have had a change of mind and heart about the quality of human planning. Psalm 20:4 prays for “all your plans to succeed”, while Psalm 94:11 attests to the faultiness of our plans by stating – “He [God] knows they are futile.”

Proverbs 16:1 declares, "To humans belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue." Notice that for humanity, our source of planning from the start is our own heart. This is dangerous. Remember what Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

However, if the Lord is our source of understanding and planning, then what finally flows from our mouths is pure, holy and true.

In addition, Proverbs 19:21 states, "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails." All of us can be busy-bodies at times. Our minds can race a million miles per hour about additional things even when we just checked off all things on our current agenda. Know that God is going to have His way, so yielding to His Plan up front is wise.

Since we walk by faith and not by sight, not having His plan for our lives revealed beforehand, what can we grasp from Scripture about His Plan For His Own?

One of the most well-known and beloved passages of The Bible assists believers in this regard, Jeremiah 29:11 - 

"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." 

Plans = the original word for plan is machashabah (makh-ash-aw-baw). This word means intention, imagination, invention, purpose or thought.

Prosper = the original word for prosper is shalom meaning to not only “bless with peace”, but with safety, welfare, prosperity, and wholeness.

Hope = the original word hope is tiqvah (tik-vah), meaning “an assured expectation”, a cord to hold on to; expectation, yearning or person/place/thing that we long for or look forward to.

My paraphrase of this Scripture is as follows - For I know the thoughts I have toward you, thoughts, intentions and purposes that are designed to deliver safety, welfare, prosperity, peace and wholeness to you, not any sort of harm and intentions to instill in your lives more than just a sense of getting by, but an assured expectation that is promised manifestation from the Creator, which will surely bless your future now and later.

Something that I would like to stress or magnify here that James does so beautifully is -

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17) 

With God's grand design, His individual plans or thoughts that are infinitely higher than ours - comes nothing but perfect goodness and love toward His own. So, while we live our lives, how do we execute His Plan?

Micah 6:8 gets right to the points on this question. One translation says - do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God. This is great, but I really like the New International Version of this verse, which reads - 

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

Acting justly shows the development of God's integrity in the Christian's life. Loving mercy is to display God's heart to all and to receive mercy because we chose to give it. Walking humbly with God is the opposite of a prideful life - to always live in a state of ascribing credit where credit is due. 

To live like this means the believer accepts his/her original "wiring" that was rejected but now is activated and in full operation with the acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior and the help of the Holy Spirit.

The instruction Jesus gave on the lifestyle of living out God's Plan was - 

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40).

However, besides Micah's contribution and the instruction of Jesus, what take-home handles can the Christian implement in their daily faith journey to assure God's plan is honored in our lives? 

First, "commit to the Lord whatever you do and He will establish your plans." (Proverbs 16:3). This means verbalize or pray your list or agenda for each day to the Lord. For example, "Lord, today I have much on my plate. I have...." You are praying not just to show Him your list but to include Him first thing in everything.

Secondly, "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." (Proverbs 3:5-7). Within this passage there are three challenging instructions - (1) trust in the Lord with everything you have, (2) do not depend on your own smarts and (3) in the small things, big things and everything in between submit how you would do it to Him. The result is He will align your plans and ways with His because you consulted Him first and followed these directions.

Now that the believer has committed his/her day to the Lord at the onset, the Christian needs to submit his/her agenda. This submitting is equal to signing your name at the bottom of the paper with the list of things that need accomplishing, praying over them, then sliding it across the table to God and going about your day in a surrendered spirit, trusting in Him.

Lastly, obey. Obedience will cover a multitude of efforts toward knowing and living out God's Plan for our lives. Within His call for obedience I believe forgiveness is a huge player. Speaking to His followers and believers, Jesus said,

"For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:14-15)

The Christian's salvation is not in question here if the believer does not forgive someone. However, there is a loss, the Christian loses the daily forgiveness of mistakes and favor or the graces of God until the believer forgives the original offense. Obedience in every area, especially this one will go a long way in providing a daily handle for executing His Plan for the believer's life.

Jesus did guarantee that following Him would not be easy. But He also promised that He has overcome the world (John 16:33). In addition, Jesus has made some other promises that Christians world-wide hang their hopeful hats upon. These promises and the arrival of Christ's first visit itself has all been part of His Plan from "go". God had Isaiah say it like this -

"I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do." (Isa. 46:10-11)

The personal involvement of Yahweh proves God's plan has never been reactive but always preemptive, harkening back to the words of Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13. This means every unborn child is not an accident, but a precious creation of The Creator, who desires a relationship with that person for eternity and has a plan for their life should they accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior.

What a joy to know that like a builder that sits down before he constructs his house or structure and determines the worth of the labor involved, so too did God count the cost before creation and salvation and deemed worthy His Plan For His Own (Luke 14:28-33; John 17:24; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20).

Whose I Am

Legacy. Mom always taught me to leave a place better than how you found it. Accomplishing this, people will think highly of me and possibly invite me back. Why should I care about the thoughts and perception of other people? Because of whose I am.

My first reflection I desire to leave on people is my best impression of a Christ-like life. My second impression I hope to attain is a great projection of my blood family's values they have instilled in my character.

I know I have messed up in both arenas, in my representation of God and my representation of my family, but thank God, both are forgiving. This is the huge key in continuing to acquire forgiveness in life - you have to give it first.

However, after getting right one with the other - What would my Mom and Dad say about me if they were to testify of my person, my character? 

How would God tackle that same endeavor? Do I make Him proud? I know God is faithful and just to forgive me as long as I confess and forgive others (1 Jn. 1:9; Matt. 6:6:14-15) Do I put a smile on His face? Do I walk in forgiveness and the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)?

When I reflect on my youth, I find it interesting that Mom and Dad did not push, force, or even direct me toward a life-goal or certain hobby. I entertained sports, piano, chorus, even thought about the Navy. However, I was not the next All-Star in any sport, famous singer on any stage or actor in any movie.

I have lived what I consider a "normal" life and am grateful. However, with this normal life has come two written books, a written and video blog I maintain, teachings in the church I have been honored to give, mission trips I have traveled on, choir participation and solo performances - all while attempting to share God's Light to my friends around me.

Many times I feel like there is so much more to do and what I have done already is simply - Standard. Perhaps none of my actions in-and-of-themselves are "special", but when I begin feeling this way I remember who I do this for and why and it carries me through till the next time I can show Whose I Am.