God Has a Plan for You!

            Initially, most people are excited when they realize God has a Master Plan for their lives. Their hearts leap at the thought of discovering their divine calling and destiny. Eager to pursue their God-ordained purpose, they lace up their spiritual running shoes and get ready to go for it.

            Sadly, however, many of those people stumble and fall before they even get started. They trip over the same obstacle that has stopped countless others from wholeheartedly following God's Master Plan.

            They are stopped cold by fear.

            What are they afraid of?

            Any number of things. They're afraid God's plan will be too hard, that it will cost them more than it will pay. They're afraid His plan won't be any fun, or that it will leave them unfulfilled, dissatisfied and deprived of the pleasures of life. They're afraid God will ask more from them than they have the strength to give.

            But, according to the Bible, nothing could be further from the truth. It tells us again and again that God is good, and that His plans for us are glorious. It assures us He will give us the desires of our hearts and, when the going gets tough, He'll substitute His strength for our weakness.

            I've done a lot of studying and preaching about the goodness of God and found that many people are totally shocked when they realize how good God actually is. For years, they've believed all the pain and heartache they've experienced in life has come from Him. Some have been religiously taught that God sends those hurts and hardships to teach them something. Some think God could help them if He wanted to, but He just doesn't care. Others have been hurt and disappointed so many times, they've come to the conclusion God is simply against them, that He truly is knocking them in the head.

            But the fact is, God is not the source of pain and suffering in the world. He's not our problem.

            Satan, the enemy of God, is the problem. He is the one who has bad plans for people. He is the one who is trying to steal from them and destroy them every time they turn around. God is endeavoring to bless us and give us abundant life. Jesus Himself told us that in John 10:10: "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that [you] may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)" (AMP).

Get Ready for Some Surprises

            God's shining path—glorious as it may be—is anything but predictable. There are always surprises along the way. Some of the things God has planned for you may even shock you at first. They may be entirely different from what you had in mind for your life. I'm living proof of that.

            The last thing I ever thought I'd be was a Bible teacher. I had other ideas for my life. When I was in high school, I set my sights on a job that would allow me to travel and make a little money in the process. Compared to what I do now, that job looks so pitiful and low it seems almost silly. But I was excited about it back then. I hadn't been anywhere. I hadn't done anything much. So it looked big to me.

            I didn't plan on marrying for a while, either. I wanted to be on my own, and when I did marry, I certainly didn't want to marry a preacher. I always said that was one thing I'd never do.

            In a way, I kept that promise because Ken appeared to be anything but a preacher when I married him. He didn't look like a preacher, he didn't talk like a preacher, and he didn't act like a preacher. Professionally, he was a pilot. Socially, he was a comedian and the life of every party. So the preacher part of him was well disguised.

            Still, it was a miracle that we ever got together. I'm convinced that the only reason it happened was because it was a part of God's Master Plan for our lives.
          
            Although neither of us was born again back then, God knew our hearts. He knew we were going to respond to Him down the road. He knew the end from the beginning (as only He can), so in His mercy and grace He was maneuvering us into place even before we committed our lives to Him.

            Actually, Ken and I would never have met had my father not insisted on it. He met Ken at a party one Saturday night, was impressed with him and wanted to introduce me to him. As a college girl, I couldn't have cared less about meeting my dad's friends. But he insisted, so Sunday morning we went to meet Ken at the insurance company penthouse where he was staying.

            When Ken opened the door, it looked to me like a light was shining behind him. At the time, I assumed it was natural light coming from a window. But years later, when I went back to that place, I realized there was no window there. The light I had seen must have been a supernatural kind of light.

            While the others chatted inside, Ken and I went out on the balcony that overlooked the city and talked for a while. It was amazing how comfortable I felt with him. Later, when we took him to the airport, we were walking side by side and I just patted him on the back like I'd known him forever. Then he went home to Texas and I went back to college.

            About six weeks later, I was home from college one weekend. Though I had not heard anything from Ken since we'd met weeks earlier, I knew he was going to call me that weekend! My parents were going out of town and invited me to go along, but something—now I realize it was the Spirit of God—told me not to go because that guy I had met weeks before was going to call.

            So I stayed home and, sure enough, he called. We had our first date and when we got home that night, he walked me to the porch and then did something that totally stunned me. He asked, "Will you marry me?"

            Dear heavens! He hadn't even kissed me. I was so shaken by his abrupt proposal that before I even thought about it, I said, "OK." Then I went into the house and closed the door. (We still laugh about that abrupt proposal and acceptance.)

            After I went to bed that night the reality of what I'd done began to dawn on me. I lay awake for hours thinking, Why did I say that? I don't want to get married. I hardly know this guy. I've only been with him a few hours. What was I thinking?

            As I finally drifted off to sleep, I shrugged the whole thing off. Oh well, I thought, I can get out of it later.

            More than 45 years have come and gone since then and I'm not out of it yet. I'm in deeper than ever ... and I wouldn't have it any other way.