God’s perfect plan for our lives

Captain Gordon Sparks of the Salvation Army led a mission team that provided aid to the workers at Ground Zero in New York in the days following the Sept. 11th attacks. He recalls mounds of paper littering the site around the bombedout buildings. Out of curiosity, Capt. Sparks picked up one piece of paper. It was obviously a to-do list compiled by one of the executives who had been in the World Trade Center Towers. Capt. Sparks writes, “Fourteen hours earlier, [this to-do list] plotted the day for a successful executive in the finance sector; now it was a mere memorial for plans of a career, a life.”

Have you ever been in a situation where your world was turned upsidedown? Your marriage fell apart, you lost your job, someone you love died, your security was shattered in some way. And deep in your heart you cried out, “It’s not fair! I had plans!

I had plans to grow old with my spouse. I had plans to retire with that company. I had plans to be healthy and vital in my old age. Now what’s happened to my life? It’s all fallen apart. This wasn’t part of the plan!”

One of the greatest benefits of reading the Bible through from beginning to end is that you start to see the plan, the perfect Plan God has for redeeming our Creation and bridging the gap that separates us from God. We may not be able to see the bigger picture now, while we are going through our pain. Can we trust that God is working actively for our best?

Have you had your world turned upside-down? Do you know the pain of letting go of the life you had planned? Take the step of faith and offer your old life as a sacrifice to God. Let God redeem your mess. Only when we die to our self can we come alive to God’s perfect plan for our lives.