God knows us completely, even better than we do ourselves, and what He has for us is better than anything we could dream up, a plan that will truly fulfil what we are made to do. Romans 8:28 says ‘and we know that all things will work together for good for those who trust him and for those who are called according to his purpose’. I’m not sure about you, but I want to do the thing I was made to do, and serve Him, and to have God with me and working out all the details of my life!
It’s a popular encouragement in church culture to say to someone “God has a great plan for your life!” and while it is a lovely thing to say, it’s always caused a little bit of confusion for me. There are lots of different opinions about this- some Christians believe that you should always follow your passions because they are God- given, and some people believe that God has a plan for you, but it’s not like a tightrope, or one straight line, but more like a playground that has boundaries, and that God guides you on. Still others believe that God has exact plans for you for each day that you should walk in. I think all these ideas have merit, and I agree with pieces of all of them, but I think it’s important to make sure any ideas are solidly backed up with scripture. In Jeremiah it says, “for I know the plans that I have for you” declares the LORD “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. In context, God is talking to Jeremiah about Israel at this point, but I think it still applies to us because it shows us the nature of God- He is good, and He wants us to have hope and a future. We can trust Him that He knows what the best plan is for us!
I have grown up wanting to do what God wants me to do, but as I have got older, I began thinking: what is it? How can I walk in it? I have so many passions, I just don’t know what God wants me to do! I wish I could hear God in a big loud voice telling me what to do. Maybe one day I will, but for now, God speaks to me in quieter ways- a small nudge in my heart, a bible verse that jumps out, a conviction, the holy spirit while I’m worshiping. I could go into a whole new topic with it, but it very small, and sometimes very hard to distinguish from my own feelings, which makes it even harder. You see, I always wanted to dance, and to be a dancer, and at about 13 years old I was torn between ballet and the desire to do that, and the desire for God’s plan. I was scared that God’s plan was for something else, even though I knew in my head that his plan was the best. So I prayed “Lord, help me to give this to you”, and that’s what I have prayed may times since then. Sometimes even “I know I should give this to you, but I don’t want to. Please help me to want to!” sometimes it’s all you can do, right? But luckily for us God always listens to our prayers, even if it feels to us like it’s taking a long time! Gradually, as I was going through my day-to-day life, I began to feel that I was able to let go of those dreams and give them to God. And I felt that God gave them back to me! I felt a renewed passion for dance. But that’s not the end of my story by any means- I still have doubts and questions, and I really think that God’s plan for your life is more like a never-ending journey of twists and turns and getting onto some roads and avoiding others rather than just getting onto the highway and it being all straight from there.
That’s a little bit of my story, but everyone’s different, so I asked around some friends and family members what their story was, and how they heard from God. I really think we can learn a lot from asking other Christians we trust- it’s always been a great way to learn for me! Friends and family will often have nuggets of wisdom that come out in conversations.
My Mum was really into sports, especially race walking as an older teenager, and she was planning to move and go to uni to study sports. She had recently become a Christian and she went to a camp just after she finished school, and during the worship she got a real conviction that she should leave all her plans and listen to what God wanted her to do next. There were a lot of tears, she said- but lots of people prayed for her and by suggestion of church leaders she became a youth leader. A few months later she met my Dad and had to seek God about whether she should pursue the relationship or not- and during another worship time she had a peace inside her that this was the right man for her. She got married and became a home-schooling mum- and she always tells us she wouldn’t rather anything else in the world. That doesn’t mean her life is easy! She still has lots of challenges and hard periods, as well as periods of joy- but Jesus tells us that in this life we will have trouble, but that he has overcome the world, and I think that’s really true for all of us- just because God is working out our lives doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges. But Jesus has overcome everything!
My Dad finished school, and like many of us, didn’t know what he should do for a job. He had also recently become a Christian so he decided maybe it would be a good idea to pray about it. While he was praying a thought popped into his mind he hadn’t thought of before- what about teaching? He became an economics teacher and if I’m honest, I think it suits his skill perfectly- he’s a great teacher. That’s something to definitely look out for- if you’re spending time with God and a thought pops into your heart and mind, there is a good chance it might just be from God and would be worth checking out.
My friend Gracie is the daughter of a pastoring/church planting family and has loved God as long as she can remember. She shared with me that she has lots of passions and things she would love- she would love to be a home-schooling Mum or even a chef in the navy and share the gospel with the sailors, but she has sought God a lot on this through the Bible and prayer and she has felt Him just saying to wait, and that He will sort it out for her and reveal it to her in His timing, which I think is amazing, and I’m really excited to see what God does!
Well that’s some of my journey and other people’s journey- but what about yours? I would encourage you to ask Christian family members or friends or church leaders about their stories and see what you can discover. But don’t stop there! In the next blog post I will outline some key ways you can know God’s plans for your life, so head over there when you’re ready!
~Hannah xx
(written in February 2024)
