I recently heard a preacher say, “God planned for you to be here today. You’re each here for a reason. Are you going to embrace that reason or not?”
I disagree. God certainly knows where I am and works where I am. He works through all the choices I make. He meets me where I am and isn’t content to leave me there. But I can’t say that where I am is exactly where God planned for me to be.
I don’t always choose well. Do you? I don’t want to get lazy and begin to think that regardless of what I choose or how disengaged I am, I’m where God planned for me to be. Let’s think this through for a minute.
So, I’m sitting in church and a preacher says, “God planned for you to be here today. You’re each here for a reason. Are you going to embrace that reason or not?” Let’s work backward through the assumptions and accuracy of the statements.
According the the last question, I have a choice to choose God’s way or not. I agree with that. I can follow God’s plan or not. I can take a step toward God or a step away from God. I can go where God wants me to be or where he doesn’t want me to be. In that moment…and in the next moment and the next. The choices I have go on and on, and each affects my relationship with God.
“You’re here for a reason.” Again, I agree. I don’t always know what the reason is. Sometimes it’s because I’ve been obedient to God and I’ve stepped closer to him, and he’s teaching me something. Sometimes it’s because I’ve been disobedient, choosing what God didn’t want me to choose. I’ve stepped away from him – perhaps a teeny step that seems insignificant at the time or a huge step. He’s teaching me something. Wherever I am is a place of purpose. I can always learn something. God is always teaching.
Now for the first statement: “God planned for you to be here today.” So I have one choice after another, and I can choose to step closer to or farther away from God. Yet, even if I’ve chosen to step away from God, and I’m not where I’m supposed to be, God planned for me to be right where I am? Perhaps it’s just semantics, but I believe that God working through my choices, despite where they’ve taken me, and God planning – or longing – for me to be somewhere are two different possibilities. Hopefully, in obedience, the two are the same place. I’ve chosen what God wanted me to choose, so there’s no difference between where my choices have taken me and where God planned for me to be. But the reality is my choices often take me somewhere God didn’t plan for me to be. Sometimes I’m way off track and sometimes I’ve taken a short detour.
God knows where I am at all times. He never leaves me. He’ll continue to guide me to help me get back on track, but part of that process involves choice upon choice, and I can take the steps to get back on track – or not.
Why would I bring this up? After all, I was in church when I heard these words, and isn’t it obvious that’s where God would want us all to be? That’s not my debate right now, but consider…If you assume you are always right where God wants you, what can you rationalize? What about someone who woke up and decided not to go to church? What about someone whose neighbor was trying to fix a car so she could get to work but he looked the other way so he could get to church? What about when we’ve chosen the path that takes us a step away from God’s will instead of closer to the center of it? Sometimes it’s not a choice between good and bad; I’m not just talking about sin. Sometimes the choice is between good and good, but God always has a “best” in mind. It’s the one that draws you closer to him.
Yes, God works through every situation we’re in. But if we assume we’re right where God planned for us to be, will be assume we’re right where God wants us to be?
We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. Romans 8:28
Susan, Thank you for addressing this topic. I have never fully understand how God is in complete control of our lives and then say we have a freedom of choice. Another aspect to consider is the impact of the Holy Spirit in our lives and decisions.
Absolutely! And we need to be okay with not completely understanding how God’s will, our will, the Holy Spirit all fit together. Yes, we need to SEEK understanding, yet be okay with what understanding we have as we seek it, since the fact is…our understanding is going to be limited. What’s NOT limited is our commitment to living a godly life. Pour your life into pursuing God!
Good distinction, Susan. I don’t think a lot of people mean to do it (arguably the pastor above as well), but they do it all the time. Then it becomes a slippery slope. Thanks for putting some tread back on it.
Tread is good!
God has a perfect will and a permissive will. God did not plan for me to become a single mother I did all that on my own. I believe and receive it if I am in a church service feeling at peace and someone says “God planned for you to be here.”
It is not semantical. If He planned for me to be somewhere else I would be in that other place or not feeling at peace.
I remember one Sunday morning. I was scheduled to appear in a news segment promoting a local business I was connected to. The shoot was for 7am. Service at my church was starting at 11am. Even with the two events across town from each other I totally planned to attend both.
In fact there was a visiting minister at my church and we were amidst a conference. I am among other things an intercessor and my pastor had asked me to join the public and private prayer team in ministry before and during the event. We even had certain attire to sport and I was dressed for quick conversion from my tv spot outfit.
Interestingly I had felt some unrest in the previous evenings service. Usually I would enjoy visiting ministers but somehow I just was not fully getting into this new preachers messages. Never the less my plan was to show up as a member of my hosting church and because Sunday mornings are the time set aside by the average American Christian to be in God’s house.
After the wrap up of the news shoot which did not go at all as planned (darn politics in spring lol) the owner of the business and I were famished. None of the other people who were involved in the spot stuck around. She and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat at a local eatery.
It was around 9am and I still thought I would make the conference with time to spare. The business owner I knew to have a history of some faith and church attendance but nothing current to speak of.
I do not recall bringing it up but even though our orders came quickly we ended up sitting there until about 11am discussing issues of faith and church attendance. As we sat there in the back of my mind I was thinking “Aren’t I supposed to be somewhere else?” Obviously not.
My plan was to attend the final day of the conference. God’s plan was for me to be a listening ear for a woman He is wooing to Himself outside the four walls of any institution. He did not plan for me to finish out the conference and I felt the unrest in my spirit before hand to give me a clue.
We do not always get such clues in advance but it is enriching and empowering to understand that where we end up when we are walking with God is where He has planned for us to be very often if not most of the time. His plans work around our free will and mistakes. There are boundaries around all our lives. We can all only go so far. God knows what we are capable of and how much we can handle so He cannot allow us to get into anything that will destroy us before the completion of our purposes.
I’m SO glad you shared and even more glad that you listened to the Holy Spirit leading you, obeyed and sat right in the center of where God wanted you to be that day!