Saturday, February 18, 2006

God's Plan? - Part 1

God's Plan! I hear Christians and non Christians alike talking about God's plan or God's will, and this is a very challenging thing to talk about. Many are looking to know what God’s "plan" is for their lives. And when things go wrong many begin asking why God would let bad things happen. These are both difficult issues to address. One of the ever popular verses regarding these is the great verse from Jeremiah 29:11.

Jer 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This is a great verse to read and a powerful one to hear in times of looking and wondering for answers about life. But it is easy to quote a verse and “claim it” and then wonder why thing don’t happen like the verse says it should. Many times when things don’t seem to be “prospering” and we are experiencing “harm” we start to question God and ask others why God would let bad things happen when he promises good. The way this verse is thrown out there as a simple answer is to misrepresent God and his word. God’s plan for our lives might be able to be summed up in this verse but a world that does not go according to plan can not. God says He has a plan but just by looking at the nation of Israel (to which whom this is written) it is obvious that they did not always prosper and we know that they did experience harm. So is God a liar? Do we just not have enough faith? Or do our actions or sin that go against God’s desire for our lives keep us from experiencing that plan quoted above?

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