Walking in the Plans and Purposes of God

God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives. We may have lots of ideas about what we would like to do with the years that stretch before us, but our ideas need to be tested and submitted to the great Planner – one of the greatest of the old hymns expresses so powerfully what should be the desire of our heart:

Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer;
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak, but Thou art mighty,
Hold me with Thy pow’rful hand.

It doesn’t matter whether we still have most of our life to live, or are wondering if the year ahead could be our last, God still has a strategy and a plan for us. However many years there may be in store, we have a choice as to how we fill the time. God has given each of us free will. But if our free will is not gladly surrendered in the light of His purposes for our lives, then we will be in danger of missing out on God’s best for us and then be in danger of coming up against the purposes of God which, as our Scripture indicates, will prevail. It’s far better to be flowing in the will and purposes of God gladly, than to eventually discover that you have been going in the opposite direction to God’s plan for your life.

God is Creator – and we are made in His image and likeness – that means that we are creative also. He rejoices to inspire our own creativity and to fill our minds with plans which will be a blessing to us personally and which will also be purposeful in respect of the Kingdom of God. I’ve found on many occasions that when God gives us vision and we walk in fellowship and obedience with Him, that He opens up the way ahead so that His purposes will be fulfilled. This was one of my primary objectives in writing the book Strands of Destiny – to illustrate how God works out His purposes in our lives.

There are many strands to each one of our lives – when God weaves those strands together He creates a beautiful tapestry. We may be going through tough times, because we are living in a fallen world, but no matter how difficult the are, God has assured us that he will be with us every step of the way.

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for being my Redeemer and for your commitment to being my Guide through life. Forgive me Lord when I have tried to do things that were not your best for me and help me, Lord, to see how precious it is to be Your representative in working out Your purposes. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.