Born With A Purpose

Jeremiah 29:11 – "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (NLT)

When announcement time came at the end of our worship service, he proudly proclaimed that he had just celebrated his ninth birthday for the ninth time.

John's birth weight registered just shy of two pounds — not necessarily a thing to get overly concerned about in our world of modern medical marvels, but still a situation that can pose both danger in the present and health problems in the future. Wonderfully trained doctors and nurses staff our modern neonatal intensive care units. The trouble is that these present-day marvels weren't around when John's mother birthed him.

I did the math. John had just turned 81, meaning that his mom birthed him in 1939. His first bed was a shoebox, and his first crib was one of the drawers in a chest of drawers. His mother placed a large piece of ice near him, and then let a fan blow the cool air across John's tiny body. You see, the month was July, and they lived in Mississippi.

When John's mother asked the doctor what to feed him, he said, "Just let him nurse from your breast for as long as he lives." His words sounded like a death sentence for sure.

But John didn't die. In fact, he grew up to be a healthy man who served in various local churches by working with the youth, leading mission trips, providing music, and leading worship. God had plans for him that neither his mother nor the doctor could imagine. When God has a plan, birth weight poses no problem.

Just as God had a plan for Jeremiah and the nation of Israel, He has plans for us. Of course, we have a choice in those plans. God gives us free will. How His sovereignty aligns with that has confounded the greatest minds, but the Bible teaches both.

Like Jonah, we can choose to ignore God's plan and go our own way. But God wouldn't have His plan thwarted, so He let Jonah spend a few nights in the belly of a large fish to teach him a lesson about the dangers of ignoring God's plan. Although God has never sent a large fish my way, He has steered me back to His path through various unpleasant measures.

I've always discovered — sometimes later rather than sooner — that following God's plan is best. God's will is done when I do that, and I'm happier in the end. In those times when I've been unsure of what God's plan entailed, prayer, meditation on His Word, and listening to the Spirit helped.

So don't sell God short. His plan is beyond our wildest dreams. It can take us to places that we never thought we'd go — geographically and otherwise — and it might also include pain that we never imagined that we'd have to endure. Whatever the nature of His plan, God will walk with us, hand in hand, and accomplish through us more than we could ever imagine.

Say yes to God's plan, whatever it involves.

Prayer: Father, give us the courage to say yes to Your plan. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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