His Plan for You

II Timothy 1:9 "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, "

Everybody has a place and everybody has value. Nobody can take your place. You were in His plan before the world began. You might wonder how you could be certain that your life as a businessman or full time mother and wife is God's will for you. God has a ministry for each one of us and we are all part of His plan. We are obligated as Christians to make time each day to accomplish His plan. How can this be done? When you make a commitment to read the Word of God and apply it to your life, you will have the confidence that the apostle Paul displays in the first chapter of Ephesians as he says," Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ BY THE WILL OF GOD."

You see, applying the Word to your life is a key. You have a gift for a ministry in your life whether you realize it or not. Let me give you an example. Some people can come into a room with a bunch of crying babies in it and in just a few minutes all of them are happy. That is a gift! Some of you can fix anything. That is another gift. You might wonder how you could minister with those gifts. Just keep spending time with God and He will show you. The job that you were created for is a personal assignment from the Lord to you.

I am an evangelist / psalmist by the will of God. I know many people that come from all occupations that are definitely in God's will. They are each fulfilling their ministry. I have a friend who is a dentist. He has been directed of the Lord in many ways to fulfill ministry with his life through his occupation. You can bake cookies for your neighbors as a ministry. The key is to be faithful to your time in God's Word and the application of it to your life. In many cases, people just need to make a little adjustment in their life to find their ministry. Your ministry will be the thing that you are most passionate about. It will be something that you love to do. Your ministry is where your talent is.

Sometimes we just get discouraged when things don't happen as timely as we think they should. Because of the grace of God, I can now help hurting people with my music. I put the violin down for many years, but God didn't forget about His plan for my life. There is one thing that I must never forget and it is that His plan must come first. If we will just read His Word everyday and apply it to our life, He will direct our path. He will show you how to use your strong points to fit into His plan.

Do not think that any man can stand in the way of God's plan for your life or you being in God's will. God's plan for you existed before the foundation of the world. How could we think that a man could stop something as awesome and sovereign as God's plan for us? No man is greater or stronger than God. There are some very basic things that you need to do to uncomplicate your search for "the plan."

Be who you are. God made us all unique. I know that there are people that we identify with, but we need to realize that our ministry is as unique as we are. Our ministry might certainly be similar to another, but the final assignment is for you and you only. You are the only one that can do your job like God wants it done. He made you specifically for that purpose. You are custom made! You are perfect for the job! You are accepted in the beloved. It was hard for me to realize that the Lord would accept the way I play the violin now. I thought He would want to wait a few years until I could play better. He doesn't want to wait. You need to do what you can do right now.

Ephesians 1:6 "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."

You are accepted just like you are right now. The word accepted means chosen, favored, special, or connected. I remember how much I wanted to play the violin like a great classical violinist. I thought I had to have a virtuoso technique to offer God the most excellent music. The only problem with that is that it would take me years of study to even come close to what I had in mind. I didn't feel good enough to be accepted or chosen. God wants us just like we are. That's all He wants. Just give Him what you have and He will use it. You don't have to wait for anything. Just start doing something that you like to do and do it for God. I encourage you to take the step and start today. When you start, you will realize that you have connected with and have begun to accomplish His plan. It is not your successes that are important, but that you accomplish His purpose. Let Him live through you to work out His plan and bless people.