Rick Phillips, Tenth Presbyterian Church writes...
Tonight’s question is “Does God have a plan for each of our lives? If so, how does he reveal it? How do we hear him and discern his voice from others?”
The verse many Christians think of with regard to this is Jeremiah 29:11, which says, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” It might be argued that this verse properly speaks of the nation Israel and not of any individual, yet Christians rightly connect this to God’s relationship with believers under the New Testament. The matter is made clear by verses like Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do;” and Acts 17:26, where Paul argued to the Athenians that “from one man [God] made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”
Rick closes by saying that we shouldn't worry too much about understanding God's plan for our lives. Our responsibility, all the time, is to trust. He quotes one of my favourite verses from my favourite Bible book, Romans...
The most significant plan God has, and the one that we ought to pay closest attention to, is the one revealed in Romans 8:28-30, which tells us that the burden really does not rest on our ability to perceive God’s plan, but rather his faithfulness to the plan he has for our salvation, as well as his sovereign ability to bring us through to the destination he has ordained. Paul writes:
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."
Read the full article here.