God's plan for your life

If you travel in Christian circles at all, you have undoubtedly heard somewhere along the line that God has a plan for your life.

You may have even heard that God has a wonderful plan for your life.

Only problem is, our definition of wonderful is not the same as God's.

How do I know?  Experience.

We're American.  So our idea of "wonderful" has been molded by idealistic dreaming - as long as you are living the American dream, you are doing well.

But is that God's idea of wonderful?  What exactly is God getting at with His plans for our lives?

Our hearts.

Pure and simple.

He wants our hearts.

The seat of life, emotions, dreams, hopes, affections, desires - these are what our hearts hold.

Once our hearts belong to Christ, His plans are able to fully work in and through and for us.

He has and wants good things for us because He is a good God.

But if we've lived any length of time, somewhere along the way - either frequently or not - our hearts have been broken, bruised, hurt.  

Now what?

God still has a plan!  He can take all of those broken places and restore them into something beautiful, if we let Him.  That takes trust.

In my experience, a big part of God's plan for me is in the preparation.  This involves pruning, purging, refining and the like.  All painful.  All my flesh would rather do without.  But all crucial to the development of God's plan for my life.

Whittling away the useless stuff - pride, envy, self-will, and so much more! - to reveal His heart in me.  This was His plan all along - to make me into His image.  And since so much of me is unlike Him (!), He had a lot of whittling to do!

Did this plan of His "feel" wonderful?  Most often, no.  It did not.

But I let Him whittle.  I know that though my heart has been broken, bruised, and wounded that He loves me and has the best for Me - no matter how painful the purging, pruning, and purifying work He does in me.

This is so not the American dream!  This is so not my dream!  Who in their right mind would think that pain and suffering is a good plan?!

Yet that is exactly what the Lord uses to make us over.  Not just to build character, which He does, but to clean house!  He is getting rid of the gunk in our hearts to make room for more of Himself.

Who rules in your heart?  What rules in your heart?  Therein lies your God or god.

This life is but a breath.  What lasts - what goes on forever - that is what truly matters.  Whatever homes we built or bought here - all gone one day.  The heart work we allow Christ to do in us?  Eternal.

The choice is always ours.  It's called free will.  We can "live for today" or live for eternal purposes.  We can force our way or do things His way.

God is after our hearts - the stuff that lasts.  God's plan for our lives IS wonderful, just not always in the way we want or think it should be.  And that's a good thing.  Because God always knows best.

Dear Lord.  We try to avoid emotional suffering at all costs.  So much so that when something like a pandemic hits, we hardly know what to do if we haven't stayed close to You.  But when we let You have full sway in our hearts, You prepare us - for only You know the future.  You strengthen us for the days ahead.  You live inside our hearts fully and then, and only then, are we fully alive.  Even though Your plan involves suffering, Lord, I still trust You.  I believe that Your plan is good because You are good - no matter how much whittling work that involves.  I love You, Lord.  Thank You for caring so deeply that You simply will not give up on me until all of Your work in me is complete.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.