Shape Your Future, Connect With God, Seek His Plan For You

Dad came in early one Sunday morning. He’d been out all night playing poker. I watched him drop a bulging paper sack filled with cash and coins on the kitchen counter.

“There,” he told mom. “Now the boys can go to camp.”

My brother and I went to youth camp that summer, an annual event sponsored by the Assembly of God churches in central Florida. At that camp, I encountered God’s presence in a way that shaped the rest of my life. It was a high-water mark that still thrills me to this day.

I always thought it was ironic that one of the pivotal things in my life was financed with poker winnings. I’m certain the Lord had a smile on his face when he answered mom’s prayers with dad’s jackpot!

Sometimes inexplicable things happen, both good and bad. Why do bad things happen to good people? We live in a fallen world with a measure of chaos that occurs (within certain boundaries). There is the factor of a real devil. Then there’s the effect of someone else’s actions on our lives. A more interesting question is, why do good things happen to bad people? The reason might be a slogan I saw on a bumper sticker: “Grace happens.” A merciful God puts signposts of love along our path. Or, a person had parents or grandparents that loved the Lord. The blessings keep on coming.

Sometimes we experience a serendipity. Seemingly by chance, like a random event, we happen to be in the right place at the right time. Was it just a coincidence when the girl of my dreams was standing across the lobby as I walked in to register for college? Or was it orchestrated by my heavenly Father because I’d been praying fervently for the right wife?

Too many people don’t expect anything good to happen. When they have a happy occurrence, they say, “That was just a coincidence.” But when something bad happens, they say, “Why is God mad at me?” The devil does a good job of propaganda. He shifts the blame away from his trickery onto the Lord.

The fact is, we can play a big part in determining whether our future will be better than our past, or just more of the same. Fatalism is a big force in many people’s lives. This is a passive attitude such as, “It is set in the stars.” “It must be God’s will.” We can’t change anything.” Fatalism is not the best world view for those of us who know God’s word or who have experienced his unfolding revelation for our lives.

Make your next year a better year. Connect with God and his plan for your life. Begin by considering who Jesus Christ is, to you, personally. Do you know the Lord? Have you invited him into your life? All progress in the Christian life begins with faith. Faith comes by hearing God’s word. Expose your mind to ideas from heaven by reading the Bible and listening to believers testify or to godly ministers teach.

Then take the exciting next step of learning how to pray. Begin conversing with God each day. You will be amazed how much joy it brings! Find God’s plan for your life and start to build a framework for it to happen by praying about it. Join up with one or two other believers. Agree to be partners and form a prayer circle. When you enter his presence with praise, and lift up your petitions, miracles happen!