In case you haven’t noticed yet I’m kinda random. I don’t like lists or schedules. I don’t fit in the “normal” box of convention and I prefer spontaneity over planning. I honestly think there might be a part of my brain that never fully developed as an adult brain should.
So when I hear the word “plan” I cringe. It sounds so, I don’t know…..planned. It feels too grown up and slightly boring. It feels like it doesn’t allow for curly q’s of fun and the detours that randomness thrives on.
And yet….God says He has a plan for me. For you. Does that scare you like it does me sometimes? Does it feel like you don’t have a choice? Take a deep breath with me. There’s good news ahead.
From the beginning of time, God has allowed us to have free will. He gives us the ability to think and decide and act as we choose. He didn’t create us to be robots. He created us to be children. Children whom He loves and whom He wants to have a relationship with.
But here’s the deal. He is the one who can see the whole picture of our lives. And not just in a “birds eye view from heaven” sort of way. In a very personal, interactive, full of love way. There is a reason that God is called our Father. He has the heart of a parent. I had a wonderful conversation with a friend yesterday about how much we can learn about the love of God by being a parent. If you are a parent, think about it from that perspective. We love our children more than we can even describe. We want only the best of them. And we guide and discipline them not because we think it’s fun to make up rules or to pounce on them if they get it wrong, but because we want them to not miss a thing. We want them to know their full potential and to use all their abilities and personalities to make the world a better place. We want our children to know and enjoy everything that life has to offer in a healthy, productive way.
So imagine how much more God wants that for us. He has all these “plans” for us, these “blessings”, that He wants to enjoy with us. And His plans are as unique and custom fit as we are. That’s why He gives us different personalities and different gifts and abilities. Because He’s got a unique story for each of us to cowrite with Him. A story that if we write with Him will have a beautiful ending, no matter what the individual chapters look like. Like any good drama, there will be good times and tough times. Joy and pain. But if we trust the author and follow His lead, each of those twists and turns will have purpose and meaning and will lead to the final amazing outcome. ( pause for random – I just had a little “aha” moment – I changed the word “plan” to the word “story” in my head. That is a better word for my sorry brain….)
But it’s our choice. We can trust our own instincts – we, who don’t know the future or what it holds, with guaranteed unforeseen pitfalls and consequences. Or we can follow the one who asks us join His sweet plan, His “story” – the one who does know the future and who loves us more than we can understand.
And p.s. – I think God gives us such freedom within that “story”. If our choices fall under the two most important headings of “love God” and “love people”, the little details of life have multiple choices that are neither right or wrong or black or white, they are just different colors that add hues and illustrations to the “story”.
God is a really good writer. He is a creative writer. And He knows each character and co-writer intimately and writes the story for them that fits them best.
See, it’s not scary at all! It’s exciting! And I am relieved to know that God can even write stories with random people like me. And God’s got a great story He wants to write with you, too. Fully illustrated with a beautiful ending…
Psalm 16:11 – You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 – The Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm; thought he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
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.”
