Man plans his way and God directs his steps

This may be your year of destiny. No matter who we are, where we live, or what walk of life we may find ourselves; we must realize that we have a God-ordained destiny.

We are people created by God, with a purpose for living. In Jeremiah 29:11, the Bible says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope.” There is a course for our lives, and that course is set by our Heavenly Father who proudly has set “plans” in motion for a good, blessed life promising us a future and a hope.

As with anything else in this life, the choice is ours. The exercise of our free will is a gift given to us by God. The Lord will never force us to serve, love or commit our lives to him. His desire is that we willingly want to make those choices. The Bible contains the plan of God for our lives. It is filled with his precious promises to us, fulfilled in Christ and so graciously bestowed. Our obedience to these commands and promises set forth in Scripture will produce blessings that remain.

As we walk out our daily lives, we are heading toward a destination. We are people called by God, heading on our specific mission of life, scheduled to arrive at our appointed destination! The God we serve is a “right on time” God, even if his schedule appears different than ours. As he is leading us, it is apparent that he is not in a hurry. Delays in what we assume to be our time schedule are ordered intended “stops” by the Lord. He has so laid out the plan for our life in such a way that each moment is accounted for in his sight. In his accounting process, each stop is a lesson, each delay a purpose and each day a plan for our good. As we take a few minutes to examine this portion of Scripture we can have peace in our hearts, having the understanding that the Lord’s desire is to lead us through any obstacle, purposing that we will arrive at our appointed destination. For with God, nothing is impossible!

The Lord says, “For I know the plans I have for you.” God knows all about planning. From the beginning of all creation, his plan was already set for his only begotten son to be the Savior of a lost and dying world. He spoke and his plan was fulfilled in placing the sun, moon, stars, waters, land and all of the planets in place.

We can therefore be assured that he has a plan for us, and if we only ask and believe, it will be revealed. A verse in Scripture says, “man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.” When we have committed our lives to the Lord, we have accepted his plans for our lives. There are thoughts, ideas, visions and goals that are placed inside of us. Some may be his will for our lives and others, maybe not.

But for sure, God’s will and his timing will help us to fulfill his destiny for us. If we could only realize that we don’t see the whole picture. We live in the now, moved by emotions and feelings. The Lord has placed faith deep inside of us to believe him and see our dreams come to pass. We need direction and leadership in the natural but we also desperately need divine guidance from the Lord for our “today and tomorrows.”

This guidance is found in the Scriptures. Even as the days pass, many are concerned about their future, the future of our families, jobs and communities. His plans are for good and not for evil to give us a future and a hope. My prayer is that we will look up, not fear, have faith and believe God for the impossible in this coming year.

Hold on to your dreams; the Lord can and will do exceedingly above and beyond what you may be expecting. May the Lord’s richest blessings and wisdom be yours this year.

XPatty Scahill of Austintown, who is a conference speaker, author and hospice chaplain, attends Christian Life Church in Canfield.