Board index ‹ Guidance and God's Will

[Kentucky Joe]

If God's plans can be so easily derailed, how powerful is he really? Example: you shouldn't kill yourself because God has a wonderful plan for your life.

[jimwalton]

Despite a traditional Christian teaching in the past 5 decades or so about God's will for your life, a wonderful plan, and all that, study of the Bible doesn't bear that out. A fantastic book by Garry Friesen, "Decision Making and the Will of God" (https://www.amazon.com/Decision-Making- ... d%27s+will) deals very effectively and biblically with that misunderstanding. God has a specific plan of salvation that will not be derailed, but he doesn't have a plan for your life, like what socks I should wear today, what college I should go to, etc. (But if He really really does want you to go to a specific college, he will make sure you get there!) He expects us to be wise and make good choices, and He works with us to that end. He doesn't necessarily have a wonderful plan for your life. Jeremiah had a very difficult life, and Paul's wasn't exactly easy. In Hebrews 11, there's a list of the people of faith, but then at the end of the chapter there are a few verses that some people's lives don't (Heb. 11.35-38). God's "wonderful plan" is the plan of salvation. Nothing will stop that train. But as far as an individual plan for an individual life, not necessarily so. Obviously God called Paul to a specific task, but that doesn't mean it's that way for all of us. Instead of agonizing over finding God's will, we should live in the Spirit and make wise and godly decisions.