God always has a plan. Do you know that? Do you believe it my friends? Well, it is true. God does not ever work without one. No matter what happens in our lives, or in the world, it is orchestrated by his design. If He has allowed or is allowing anything to take place, it is because He had or has a wonderful plan in mind, and in place, even though we do not understand.
God has all the details of our lives and the world already worked out. Never ever think for a moment that God is surprised by what has happened, or is happening just because we are. He is the all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful God. He is never caught unaware. It is all in His plan. In the same way He has a plan, He always has a provision also. He sees and knows also about any obstacles that try or may try to hinder His plan as well. He always makes a way and already has it worked out.
God works in unfathomable ways. He cannot be figured out. We can make any plans we wish to make, but He always has the final say in the matter. Sometimes things don’t make sense to us. No matter how hard we try at times to reason things out, we just will not be able to understand. Sometimes we will like how His plan unfolds, and other times we will be disappointed, but we have to learn to accept the outcome and trust Him because He knows what’s best for us.
God has a plan for all things! We have to believe that, my friends, no matter what we see. Nothing happens apart from his knowledge and permission. If you doubt that, read the book of Job. The devil had to seek God’s permission to interfere with his life. Each day, the enemy wants us to believe that God has failed us or that He doesn’t care. He tries to convince us that we are alone but that is far from the truth. God promises, in His word, we will never be alone. He is with us always. When God seems quiet, perhaps even far away, it is important for us to trust Him and remember His promise and the fact that He always has a plan for our lives.
We need also to learn to look at all the circumstances in our lives – the good and what we consider to be the bad circumstances as part of His divine plan. We need to bear in mind that God uses all of our circumstances to teach us things! He has authority over all that we face. His goal is to lead us to His ultimate purpose for our lives. Sometimes God will take us to the end of our own strength so that we have no other alternative or nowhere else to turn but to him. So no matter what life throws your way, learn not to complain or argue with God about how He chooses to work in your life. Just submit and cooperate with Him instead. We have to believe and have faith that God has a plan for whatever it is that is happening to us at any given time. None of these things happened without Him knowing about them.
Nothing is hidden from God. He knows everything and He knows everyone. He knows who is real and who is not. Not only does He always have a plan for everything in our lives – He always has a person or persons He can count on as well to enable His plan to come to fruition. Examine the scriptures and see for yourself how God works. Take a look at any of the Bible characters and study their life’s journey and see how God uses them to fulfill His divine purpose. God uses ordinary people at times to do extraordinary things. God’s plans must be fulfilled. For instance, let us look at the lives of Naomi and Ruth. What were God’s plans for their lives?
The story was told in the book of Ruth that during the time of the Judges there was tremendous hardship and famine in the land of Judea. Naomi’s husband Elimelech took her to a strange land called Moab in search of a better life. It was there that she experienced her first loss in the death of her husband. That left Naomi a widow. She was miles away from any family with two sons to raise – Mahlon and Kilion. Eventually, her boys became men and took wives of their own from among the pagans of Moab. Their names were Orpah and Ruth. Before either of her sons could even bless her with a grandchild, to carry on their family’s lineage, both of them died. This left Naomi – without her two sons or her husband – with only her daughters in-law, Orpah and Ruth.
Can you even imagine how she felt? She’s out in the middle of nowhere, in a land of pagans and idol worshipers. And now, every member of her family is gone. She feels like she has been left with nothing. She decides to return to her homeland Bethlehem. Her two daughters-in-law want to return with her, but she insists that they stay with their own people. After much insisting from Naomi, Orpah agrees to stay, but Ruth returns with her. Upon her return, Naomi, in the midst of frustration and despair, says to her people, “Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: (which means bitter) for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?” Ruth 1:1-2.
Naomi’s problem was that she did not understand the Lord’s will. She was not aware that God was planning something in her life…that there was a greater picture unfolding and, in time, He would reveal His plan. She could not see beyond her grief and her trouble. She only saw the hurt and the pain. Her life was limited by her own spiritual blindness. Though God’s plan to restore Naomi was indeed in motion, she herself could not see it. All she could see was her own pain. But, indeed, Naomi had not returned as empty handed as she had thought. You see, sometimes when we are in our darkest hour, all we can see is the dark. We cannot see God at work shining His light into our darkness. That was the case with Naomi but God did not abandon her, and He was not going to let her be destroyed. Little did she know! God had a plan to restore her and bring her hope!
The beginning of that hope was revealed in Ruth, and it was completed in a man named Boaz. Whatever child born to Ruth and Boaz would be considered Naomi’s grandchild, and restore her family’s lineage. And there was indeed a child born. Naomi’s grandson was Obed. He was the grandfather of King David, the ancestor of Jesus Christ. Just imagine that my friends! God always has things under control. He sees and knows the bigger picture. Is that not wonderful?
Naomi thought it was over for her but that was not the case. God did not leave Naomi empty as she had thought. God used her to bless the world. God had a plan, as He always does. His plan was to give Naomi “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 61:3). And, He has a plan to do the same thing for us as well. Our vision is limited but not his, my friends. He can be trusted with our lives.
Look at the bigger picture, my friends. It’s amazing how God works. Follow this for a moment. If Naomi did not move to Moab, her son would not have met and married Ruth. If Ruth had not returned with Naomi she would not have met Boaz and married him. If she did not conceive, there never would have been Obed. If there was no Obed there would not have been David. If there was not David, that lineage would not have been the ancestor of Jesus Christ. Look at how it came together, my friends. Is it not awesome? Check out the genealogy of Jesus: Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse who was King David’s father. King David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. King David was the shepherd boy whom God sent Samuel to anoint to become the king of Israel. Ruth is also the ancestor of Joseph (husband of Mary and would-be legal father of Jesus).
The connection between Ruth and David is very important because Jesus was born of Mary, betrothed to Joseph of the lineage of David. Thus, in Christian lineage, Ruth is a foremother of Jesus. When you stop to study these people’s lives, it shows you how God was at work in each of their lives fulfilling his divine plan. It also demonstrates that with God nothing that happens is a mistake. Everything happens for a reason and God is in charge of all things. That’s the kind of God we serve my friends. Nothing happens perchance or by accident with him.
My friends, this truly assures us that God always has a plan for everyone and everything in this world. God is sovereign and we have to defer to Him in all things at all times! We have to stop leaning on ourselves and learn to lean on the Lord, and trust that He is taking care of us even when we can’t see the whole picture. In times when God is calling us to accomplish the impossible, he is not asking us to naturally accomplish what only HE can do. He is asking us to align ourselves with him and his power and provision and plan.
While God may not reveal every detail of His plan to you, He will reveal all that is required for you to follow. Follow one day at a time with one step of faith at a time. While circumstances may appear as if life has no direction, or that God has somehow gone on vacation, just keep moving. Resist the urge to give up. Simply walk the footpath of God’s plan in faith and with the knowledge that God is in control. Circumstances don’t dictate what God is doing. Scripture admonishes us that we must trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding;
“in all our ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5, 6).
Always remember, God always has the best plan!
About the Author: Mrs. Marilyn Hodge owns and operates the Wellness Centre in the Farrington, Anguilla. The Centre offers Counselling Services by Appointment Only. Contact information: 476-3517 or email: marilynb@anguillanet.com.
