There is nothing more important and more rewarding than walking out the plan of God for your life. Unfortunately, there are so many people not living the life that God intended them to live. Instead, they are living their life based on a different set of plans or ideas. But truly living life to the fullest is only available when you walk in God’s plan.
God Has a Plan For Your Life
Let’s say it another way: God already has a plan for your life. You were created on purpose and with a purpose. There is a master plan for your life which was prepared by God before you were even born.
Psalm 139:13-16 says: “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” (NKJV)
God has a plan for your life. And it is a good plan. In fact, the next verse says:
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand.” Psalm 139:17–18 (NKJV)
In other words, God thinks about you all the time, and His thoughts toward you are precious and good. And His plan for your life is just as good!
Jeremiah 29:11 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.” (NIV84)
There are some people who think that God’s plan may not be the best plan. They somehow think that God may want them to live a hard and undesirable life. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, God’s plan is the best plan. He wants to prosper you. He wants to give you hope. He wants to give you a future; a good future. God’s plan is the only plan that will bring you true fulfillment, joy, peace and blessing. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 (NKJV)
Living life to the fullest is only available when you live out God’s plan for your life.
God’s Plan is Not Automatic
The following statement is a powerful and life-changing truth: God’s plan for your life is not automatic. This may be something you have never heard before. In fact, you may have heard just the opposite, but this is an important truth to understand.
There are people who mistakenly believe that since God already has a plan for their life, His plan will automatically come to pass, but that is not how it works. Though God does, indeed, have a plan for your life, it will not come to pass by default. You must seek after God’s plan and engage with His plan. You need to accept it, receive it, and then choose to walk it out. God will not force His plan on you. You have a choice. Notice what Ephesians 2:10 says:
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (NKJV)
This verse says that God has prepared a plan, but it also tells us that “we should walk in them.” In other words, you don’t have to walk it out. You have a choice. You can accept His plan or not. The choice is yours to make. But be careful. Don’t miss out on God’s wonderful plan.
There are Other Plans For Your Life
It’s important to know that God is not the only one who has a plan for your life. There are many other plans and options out there for you to accept. Let’s take a look at three of them.
#1 – SATAN HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE
Don’t let this scare you. I know it sounds extreme, but it’s true. Jesus very plainly said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 (NKJV).
Right in the very same verse, Jesus very clearly points out there are two opposing plans. Jesus wants to give you life and He wants to give it to you more abundantly. The devil, on the other hand, wants to steal the very life that Jesus wants to give you. This is important to grasp, because if you do not understand this, you will assume that God is the source and the reason behind every bad thing that happens to you. But that would not be true. There is a real God and there is a real devil, each with opposing plans. But there is some good news. You can submit to God’s plan and resist the devil, and when you do, you can take back the life that may have been stolen from you.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (NKJV)
#2 – YOU HAVE YOUR OWN PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE
God has a plan for your life. Satan has a plan for your life. And you also have your own plans for your life.
Proverbs 19:21 says, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.” (NKJV)
All of us have the ability to come up with many different plans for our life. And we can also change our minds—and even alter the course of our life—whenever we want.
Just think about this for a moment. Most of us graduate high school and immediately come under the pressure to figure out what to do with our life. Whether or not we should go to college and earn a degree. Whether to attend a four-year college or to begin at a community college. Whether to get a full-time job or travel the world. Not to mention what career path to pursue. Where to live. Who to marry. When to marry. And after its all figured out, many will change their mind and then also change the entire course of their life. They may even drop out of college, or perhaps they end up pursuing a completely different occupation from the degree they earned. Some may live half their life as a school teacher only to discover that they now want to become a professional chef. And in the meantime, time is passing by.
The Bible says there are many plans that we can come up with on our own, nevertheless (that’s a key word), the Lord’s plan is what really matters. In other words, His plan and His counsel is steadfast and true and will stand the course of time. Don’t waste any more time trying to figure it out on your own. You will never truly find your life apart from God.
#3 – OTHER PEOPLE HAVE PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE
It’s been said many times: If you don’t know who you are, someone will tell you who you are. Advice is free, they say, but in reality it can be very costly.
Everyone has an opinion on what to do and how to do it. Your friends and family may have ideas on what you should do with your life. You may have had a school teacher tell you that you should pursue artwork because you displayed some artistic ability. Or perhaps an athletic school coach saw some natural talent and encouraged you to pursue a sports career. Or perhaps you grew up in a home where your parents expected you to take over the family business or that you should attend your father’s alma mater. The point is, everyone has an opinion, and if you don’t know who you are, someone will tell you who you are. And if you’re not careful, you will live your life based on the opinions and direction and advice of other people.
That’s not to say others don’t mean well or have your best interest in mind. That’s also not to say we shouldn’t pay attention to the advice of others, because the Bible says that there is safety in the multitude of godly counsel, but after its all said and done, the most important thing to understand is this: Only God has the Master Plan for your life.
Discover God’s Plan For Your Life
You may not know what to do with your life, but God does. You may still be trying to figure it out, but God already has it figured out. God has the master plan for your life, and if you want to discover what it is, you need to look to the Lord. Colossians 3:3 says, “your life is hidden with Christ in God,” which means you will never truly find your life apart from Jesus Christ.
All of us are living life, but the question is: Are you truly living the abundant life that God has prepared for you? And if you don’t know God’s master plan, it’s time to discover what it is. There is no need to continue living life without knowing His plan. All you need to do is simply ask the Lord.
Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Call out to God. He will answer you. He will show you great and mighty things that you do not yet know. God wants to reveal His plan to you. He is not wanting to hold it back. He wants you to know His plan and to fulfill it.
So call out to God and ask Him to show you the master plan. He may not roll out the entire plan in all its details in one sitting, but He will give you direction and purpose, and He will show you the next steps. Psalm 37:23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” And as you walk out each step, you will discover that you are on the right path and living the life you were meant to live.
Take the first step right now. Spend time with God in prayer, asking Him to show you His plan for your life. Ask the Lord also for the next steps and walk it out.
Live the life you were meant to live. Life more abundantly!
Tristan Fenholt 