Does God have a "wonderful plan for your life?"

I love the cover of Ray Comfort's God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life. The title is contrasted with a picture of the stoning of Stephen.



More and more "churches" these days preach a watered-down, feel-good message that has nothing whatsoever to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ or His teaching that His followers would suffer. I'm not saying we need to suffer all the time every day; but these modern messages stay as far away from suffering and persecution as they can get. They give the false impression that being a Christian means: You will become more prosperous, healthier, learn to enjoy the good life now, discover your "destiny" (discovering your destiny is really just bowing down to the god of fate), become a better version of yourself, etc., etc., etc. It's all about this life.

Jesus' message and the message of the apostles by contrast was to hate this life and patiently look forward to the Kingdom of Heaven. Nowhere in the New Testament are we promised, as Christians, the good life now. Recall the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

My church is nothing like that I love my church!

And after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made a good number of disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “It is through many tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21-22).

from Romans 5

I actually agree with that. There is no promise that we will have a life free of trials & tribulations, struggle, depression, anxiety, illness, etc.

That being said, there are commands to rejoice and be glad in persecution, trials, sufferings, etc. (Matthew 5:12, Romans 14:7, 2 Cor. 8:2, 1 Peter 4:12-13)

I'm not going to pretend I know how to be a bundle of joy when life is tough. However, rather than guaranteeing peace and joy will automatically come, people need to know how to find joy and peace in their darkest of moments.

Amen!

Yep, it's given in Scripture, specifically Paul's epistles.

Here's one of the main problems with the "God has a wonderful plan for your life" approach to evangelism.

The only ones who might find it appealing are the down and out. But what about those who aren't down and out? Those who are well-off and are perfectly happy? I know people always say the wealthy are secretly miserable inside; however, this is a myth. Some may be, but many are content with their situation and can't see how God could have a more wonderful plan for them than they already have.

The answer to this problem is the truth of the gospel. No matter who you are we all die and will have to give an account to God. All have sinned and need a Savior: rich or poor; drug addict or college graduate; homeless hobo or middle class suburbanite. This is the message everyone needs.

I have a lot more respect for Ray Comfort now.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. ( past tense)

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:1-10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I believe there is much joy for us when we find fellowship with brothers and sisters who are looking towards home and away from this dying place

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

there’s a lot of joy for us in our hearts of faith based upon his promises we can’t yet see and I do believe he has a plan for each of us it’s just a plan within his kingdom as we love and serve others so it’s not the worldly message of worldly prosperity and pleasures but the hope of seeing the father and having him welcome us home to glory

we have something better than this world or all that is in it it just takes us to look into his promise and not through our eyes of lust

great post

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;

In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭11:23-27‬ ‭KJV‬‬

1 Corinthians 1:4-8

Yes. God is wonderful. Ergo, His plan for my life is wonderful. Be it in the valley or on the mountain top.......I praise Him for all the blessings He has given me.

Gods grace is undeserved. It is freely given with no need to earn a tiny drop of it.

Yet, it is undeserved.....for there is no one, no, not one that deserves the saving grace of God......

Yep, Christ revealed to the Apostle Paul truths that were never known before, but are now revealed through Paul's epistles to the body of Christ.

Because Adam represented all of man that had the capacity to Know GOD, his choice to follow the plan of death caused mankind to follow the same path. JESUS Gifted the Tree of LIFE (Plan of Life to follow).

Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

Adam never “deserved “ to be created and blessed and given dominion and freedom , man was created in grace but didn’t walk worthy being informed and so died lacking faith. And then later

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Noah didn’t deserve grace , but he found it and then was told what to do and be saved

“And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

…..Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:13-14, 22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

And had faith and was saved by grace through faith


“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
‭‭Titus‬ ‭2:11-14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

There are two kinds of grace that kind that comes with teachings of what to repent of and what to become zealous of actually doing that kind saves and is found in the gospel then there’s another kind of grace that denies the word of Christ that teaches us what to do and not do

“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
‭‭Jude‬ ‭1:4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

grace has always from creation been there for man , the issue we have is rejecting Gods word of life and death which is where faith comes from

I believe He does for mine. For Stephen also. The Bible says if we suffer with Him, we will reign with him. Being immortal like Jesus, and being a son of God, reigning and ruling with a co-heir with Christ with God's favor upon us after we have suffered for a little while sounds like a wonderful plan. Eternal life under those conditions sounds wonderful.

If you believed in double predestination, it wouldn't make sense to tell a random stranger on the street 'God has a wonderful plan for your life.'

I don't think this is an appropriate thing to say during a presentation of the Gospel, either. That is not the way the apostles preached it.

There's something interesting about the stoning of Stephen. His only crime was speaking the truth. Anyone who stands for truth will be hated by those who love lies. Today you may not get stoned, but you'll definitely get attacked—sometimes viciously.

God said Paul will suffer many things for the Gospel.

Had a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble.

All that will live godly will suffer persecution.

People in the world fight over their differences and will fight over every thing there is to fight about and now it is time for the men and women to fight for it was inevitable and has been going on for a while.

So the world will fight with the Christians that oppose the world and their ways.

A Christian will suffer persecution from the world for it will happen because they are opposing them whether small or big.

Jesus said family members would be at odds with each other and against each other over Him so how much more the world.

God does have a plan for each life but not all of the plans are wonderful. Some are hard, others, through necessity could be classified as horrible. That does not mean those lives were bad, only there were hard choices to be made.