Oh yeah? Is that so?
Who says?
Oh you mean the prophet Jeremiah, where he says: "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." (Jer. 29:11) ... *that* plan?
Never mind that this message was directed by God specifically "to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon" (v.4) and was pointing to when the 70 years of exile would be up and some of the people would return to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Never mind that. Somehow Evangelicals have generalized this verse to apply to all believers, all the time.
But how about an alternative?
Maybe instead of having a specific "plan" that involves discerning and then choosing the correct door (by the way, I'm about to go into interviews for door #2 in about an hour - and door #1 seemed to swing open yesterday), lest you find a goat there instead of a grand prize...
Maybe rather He has some good works prepared for me to do, and THAT'S His plan for my life: go do what He's prepared me to do, in His name and on His behalf.
Maybe it's really more like Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Hm. I mean, if I'm doing those good works, how far off from the plan of God for my life can that really be?
And maybe what He's "prepared us for" through personality, aptitude and life experience, is the kind of thing that Jesus talked about in Matthew 25. Attending to Him, attending to the affairs of His Kingdom, attending to the needs of others around us in His name.
Maybe life choices are as simple as that? Attending to what matters in the long run, but attending to it... daily?
Can it be as simple as Jesus said in Matthew 6: 31-34?
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."
Um, yeah. That last part I get.
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Read "The Fifth Mountain" by Paulo Coehlo. The author (who also wrote the international bestseller "The Alchemist") wrote this story about the Biblical prophet Elijah because he (the author) had denied his desire to be a writer in favor of a high-level job in advertising (or something). Just as he had made peace with his decision to be happy with his life WITHOUT being a writer, he was fired over the phone for no reason at all. He could not break back into the industry, though he tried for TWO YEARS.
Elijah also initially denied his calling. And had to struggle with coming to terms with God's plan for him.
Seriously, read it.
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