Discovering God's Plan?

“How do I know what God’s plan is for me?” Such is the question asked by the student attempting to discover a career that is meaningful. This question is asked by the middle aged couple who’ve been downsized by their employer. People nearing the end of a lifetime of work ask this question as they look ahead at retirement. In one way or another, virtually every believer asks this question during their walk with Christ. I believe most of us ask it as we look ahead to forks in the road that we have to navigate – some of us regularly.

How does one answer that question? I believe every time the issue arises it’s a new situation that demands fresh faith, if not a new strategy. We can believe, if we want to, that there is a formula to discovering God’s plan and all we have to do is mix the ingredients together and out pops the answer. Oh, that it might be that simple! Wouldn’t life be wonderful if all we had to do was know which button to press on the machine to have God’s perfect plan pop out in plain English (or whatever the appropriate language) and lay out each step we’re supposed to take? Well, not really. The Bible tells us, “everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Where does faith come in if every step is marked out?

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that we can’t know God’s plan. I don’t want to imply that God’s plan is some intangible thing that we can never quite get our hands on. It is possible to be confident in our understanding of God’s plan for our lives. He will make his plan known in such a way that we can walk in it with peace. With no questions? No. Questions are part of human nature. They’re natural. That doesn’t mean that the motivation to ask questions, or the inferences accompanying questions aren’t affected by our fallen nature. Curiosity, I believe, is one of the great gifts to humans from the Loving God. We’re born to ask questions. We’re born to seek out answers to “Why?,” “How?,” and others. Refraining from asking questions may not be a sign of great faith. It might be a sign of a mind lacking the most basic understanding of how God works with people – not to dominate, but to lead. Not dragging along a resisting subject, but guiding a willing servant.

I’ve discovered that the level of difficulty in the decisions we face is proportional to our spiritual maturity. In life, we don’t expect an adult to struggle carrying a five pound bag of sugar. However, we’re not surprised when we see a toddler working hard to help carry the same item into the house for Mom. Why is that? The same task is easy or difficult based on the age of the subject. An adult may struggle with a fifty pound bag of dog food just as much as a child with the sugar. Is the adult stronger? Of course. Is the subject of the task larger? Certainly. Who has the greater task? I would submit that the two tasks are proportionally the same.

As “mature” Christians, we can look at the decisions facing younger believers and be tempted to say, “Come on! Get with the program! Make a decision!” all the while completely missing how significant a decision it is to the new Christian. However, when we labor over a decision in our life the story is altogether different. Our response is, “Don’t you know this is a serious issue? Don’t you understand the implications of such a heavy decision?” We miss the point entirely that, proportionally, the decision the younger Christian faces is just as significant, just as complex, just as daunting.

What does this have to do with discovering God’s plan? I’ve pastored for thirty years. The number of times I’ve been asked, “How can I know God’s plan?,” or a similar question, is beyond counting. Yet, when Suzanne and I have stood in the position of wondering about the next step in our lives, I have to go back to the same strategy believers have used from the beginning:

Pray,
Seek counsel,
Read the Bible,
Review God’s previous directions,
Weigh the pros and cons of the various options

If we do all of that will we know for sure what we should do? Well, not necessarily. We might have a pretty good indication. We may find all of these lining up in the same direction – which is a good thing. But, where then, does faith come in? Doesn’t faith come into play when we believe God has spoken and we act on that word?

Someone used a simple illustration many years ago to demonstrate an important principle at this point. It’s easier to turn a car that’s moving than one that’s sitting still. When we step out in faith that God has spoken, one of three things will be true: 1), we’ll have made the correct choice and find confirmation and blessing, or 2), we’ll discover we should have gone a different direction, or 3), we’ll discover we could have taken either path because God promised to always be with us. There are times when God’s plan isn’t a specific path, but how we walk on that path, not the job title we have, but the kind of employee we are.

Suzanne and I have been on an amazing path these past eighteen months. Since we were first approached about ministering in Central Asia, we’ve seen God direct us and, at the same time, allow choices for us to make. There have been times when his desire was specific and clear. There have been other times when his plan was something we had to work to discover, or wait to see. We strive to discover the plan God has for us, but perhaps the greatest discovery is finding him.