This week’s question is crucial in walking in the perfect will of God for our lives. “As we all know Jeremiah 29:11 states that God has a good plan for us. Are we supposed to know His plan for us? Furthermore, God’s will be done and we all have a purpose here, but how do we know what our individual purpose is or is everyone’s purpose the same, to glorify Him?”
A great way to answer this is with Jeremiah 29:13 which says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
I would say the most important thing we can do is discover what His plan is for us. The fact is, many Christians live this life and never figure out what God’s plan is for them and the reason is generally because they are not interested. The scripture here tells us we will find Him when we seek Him with our WHOLE heart. I’ll get back to that in a minute.
God’s plan for us is bigger than just one thing. He has a plan for us first and foremost in the Body of Christ, but then also individually. Our individual plan is always connected to the plan for the whole Body. When I say the Body of course I mean both all believers that are here, were here, and will be here, but also the Body as the local church. So then we can say we need to know God’s plan for humanity as a whole, His plan for the area or region we live, His plan for the time we live, His plan for our local church, and also where we fit into all of that. Sounds like a lot but it isn’t as hard as it seems.
I will show you this by returning to Jeremiah 29:13. The key here is seeking God with your whole heart. What does this mean? It is when you seek something in such a way that you are unsatisfied without it. If you were truly hungry, you would completely focus on finding food. You would not be casual about it. You may not know exactly where to find it, but you would set yourself on a course to ensure you find it. It would become a matter of life or death. Finding God is really much the same. The thing is with God, once you have decided you are unwilling to go without Him and His plan, He ensures (as promised in Jeremiah) that you will find it.
I love what Paul said in Philippians 3:14. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” The word press means literally to pursue in a hostile manner. That’s a person who WILL NOT go without. As we do what God has commanded, pray, read the Word, do what the Word says, and submit to a local church, God will reveal His plan to us step by step.
When I first started coming to church, I never thought I would pastor a church, let alone two. As I went and became more and more faithful, growing in the Lord, I discovered this plan. More is revealed to me all the time and what I know now far exceeds what I knew even just a few years ago. This is because my desire is to do His will. I am not perfect by any stretch but I am hungry!
So to sum this up, desire, truly desire from God to know what He has for you. Ask Him and He will tell you. Remember that He has said, “keep asking and keep knocking” and you will find. His promise is sure to all, but only if we are truly hungry!
Be a Blessed,
Pastor Jeff
