Even after becoming a Christian, I still had difficulty grasping the “plan” idea. The reason for this was that I had a very beautiful sister. I have always adored her and never felt bad about her being the center of attention. It was no problem to me at all that the boys wanted to get to know me so they could get to know her! But even though I was more than grateful to bask in her glory, the inevitable happened, and I developed a very low self-image.
I didn’t know there are no ugly sisters in God’s sight. I had to learn that He is a purposeful God who had sweet reasons for making me just as I am. It’s hard to understand that God likes me when I don’t like myself. I found it difficult to believe that He had a special plan for me.
If we don’t think very highly of ourselves, it’s hard to believe that God planned for us as thoroughly as He planned for Jeremiah, Moses, Abraham, David, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Of course, it’s easy to believe God had a plan for those Bible people or for great Christian leaders such as Augustine, Billy Graham, Dwight L. Moody, or Mother Teresa! But then we say to ourselves, I’m just plain ordinary me. Why would God think I’m special? Or we think we are too old or too young, too black, or too white, too rich or too poor, too uneducated or too disadvantaged. Well, if we feel like this, we are in good company. Jeremiah felt just like that, and he told God so.
“I am only a child,” he protested, only to hear God say, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you” (Jeremiah 1:6-7). God thinks highly enough of each of us to have been thinking and planning for us for all eternity! Now if that doesn’t make us feel significant, I don’t know what will.
Of course, there are other reasons that we may find it difficult to consider God’s plan for our lives. Perhaps our own plans are perfectly satisfying and we are so busy at work or play or even in church affairs that we don’t take the time to “star gaze.”
Have you ever called a child in from play because you have plans for him? Maybe you are going shopping for clothes for him, and you have planned to stop and have ice cream afterwards at a favorite place. Have you ever had to insist that your plans are more important than his plans and that he should curtail the playing and come and get ready? “You must come in now,” you insist. “I have plans.” You have thought the plan out, and now it is time to invite the child to participate, but he is too busy with his own activity to think that your plans are even better than his!
Who of us in this situation has not had to listen to Jeremiah-like protests, such as “I’m too busy,” or, “I’m having too much fun,” or, “I don’t feel like eating ice cream today.” And who of us had not replied, “But you must come, and you must come now.”
The calling of God has a “mustness” about it. He knows how much better His ways are than our ways. No matter how busy we are with other things or how much fun we think we are having, our heavenly Father’s will for us needs to be done. His plans for us are the most important plans and are certainly the ones that will bring us the most joy.
