March 1, 2025,
I’d say this is just not right. It’s my life, so wouldn’t it make more sense if I were the one who gets the last say? I should be the one determining what my future will be. But I’ve been told over and over, “The future isn’t up to you to decide; you should simply trust God.” And yet, over and over, I don’t get it. It’s. My. Life.
Before you continue reading, pause for a minute and ask yourself this question:
Which is better? My plan or God’s plan?
My plan or God’s plan – which should we choose?
Your first answer was probably God’s plan, which is the right one. But have you truly thought about it? Have you truly surrendered everything to God, or have you been busy making your own plans and building your future while claiming it’s God’s?
We often jump to conclusions in our everyday lives, assuming everything will automatically unfold according to our own will. Whether it’s a minor decision like joining a school club or a significant choice like transferring schools, we tend to prioritize our perspectives on what seems like the right decision. However, the true and right response is to seek guidance from God—asking for His advice, wisdom, and direction.
Don’t get me wrong; making our plans isn’t a bad thing. We shouldn’t simply give up, telling God, “If You’re making my future, then I’ll just sit and do nothing”. We aren’t pre-programmed robots. We were given two things: free will and a mind. This freedom allows our minds to think, solve, and plan. Making plans ourselves, using the freedom we are given by God, is completely fine! But there is a risk, a risk that we all fall into: thinking that our plan is better than God’s plan, that our plan is wiser, and even completely forgetting about God’s plan.
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
-Proverbs 16:9
Simplifying this verse, it explains that we humans plan our lives ourselves, but it is God who either makes our plans happen or lets them fail. The ultimate decision is His. One of our mistakes is assuming that we get the final say. We plan our steps, but God controls whether we take that step… or not. It’s His call.
Why choose to follow God’s plan?
So, if we can make our own plans, why can’t we just follow them?
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
– Jeremiah 29:11
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God knows His plans for each of us. This not only tells us that He knows what will happen but also that He has already made His own plan for us, a plan that we must follow because they are plans for good” God has created a beautiful plan for our good.
Continuing: “and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope”. Maybe some of us are afraid to let God decide what to do with our lives, or perhaps we believe it would lead to something painful. But God’s plans never have and never will be intended to harm us. However, while God’s plan is ultimately for our good, this doesn’t mean we won’t suffer. But what is so beautiful about God is that He is so good, wise, and great that He can transform even the darkest part of our lives into something amazing!
The correct response should be to surrender all our plans to God and leave it to Him, as this verse says:
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
-Proverbs 16:3
Honestly, this takes a lot of trust. Submitting all our plans to God, letting Him guide us, believing that He won’t hurt us… But that is what God wishes for, our trust and our faith in Him.
So we really only have two options:
1. Follow our own plans – ultimately claiming that we are wiser than God
2. Surrendering our plans to God, letting Him decide – putting our trust in Him
Which would you want to choose?
What is God’s plan for us, and are we truly following it?
Let’s break this into two parts:
- How can we discern God’s plan for our lives?
- How can we be certain that we are genuinely following His guidance rather than straying onto the wrong path?
After reading all that, these are probably our next questions. But we’re not left to be lost in this complex issue. The Bible itself discusses our exact question!
A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?
-Proverbs 29:29
In other words, this verse indicates that God guides the steps we take in daily life. However, it raises the question: How can we know where God is leading us?
There’s just one problem: God hasn’t revealed His overall plan to us.
Think of it like this image:
The back view is an absolute mess, but the front is a masterpiece. This is what we see in a tapestry. Although on its own it appears completely random, each thread has its own purpose towards creating the final, complete piece. Likewise, God is weaving every joy, sorrow, and pain into His final masterpiece plan for us, which He hasn’t revealed. We cannot see His masterpiece, and it is not for us to see yet.
This doesn’t mean we should obsess in attempting to find out what God’s unrevealed plan is in its entirety. What God has not revealed belongs to Him, but what He has revealed to us belongs to us (Deuteronomy 29:29).
God may not have revealed the complete tapestry yet, but He has revealed glimpses of it, glimpses of how to live according to His will. The Bible. The Bible tells us everything we will ever need to know. It tells us what to do to live according to God’s will, while also a book of wisdom and warm comfort to help us fulfill this calling. The Bible is God’s way of talking to us, and we talk to Him through prayer. So we really have all that we need right before us. However, while we must trust in God’s plan for our lives if we are lost and perplexed, we should lean on God for Him to direct our plans.
If we are obedient to His revealed will, we don’t need to worry about whether we are following the right path. The overall plan isn’t revealed yet; our task is just to do His will through what we know.
What Now?
So, after reading all this, how should we respond?
Work:
We shouldn’t simply sit back and assume that God will do everything for us, as we humans were given a mind to work. Again, it isn’t wrong for us to make our own plans, but we need to be careful not to fall into the trap of pridefulness. We may not say it verbally, but we tend to act as if our plan is better than God’s plan. So, instead of letting God do everything, we should actively do our best to seek God’s will for us – read His word regularly, pray, and serve.
Trust:
Trust that God has everything under control. No matter how chaotic and messy our lives get, we mustn’t forget that He has an amazing plan for each of us. We may not know this plan, but it is certainly worth trusting God for.
Embrace Him:
We shouldn’t lean on ourselves, assuming we can handle and plan everything. We humans are weak and clueless. We must embrace God, seeking assistance, guidance, and comfort. Before we make any of our own plans or decisions, we must remember God. Pray to Him and ask for guidance.
Do His will, Obey:
We must do His will through what we know, through what God has already revealed. Once again, the Bible. We should obey God’s word, His way of talking to us. His word contains all we need.
