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Then there's this. My family and I are walking with some friends who are preparing to move to another state. There are some potential pitfalls and ups and downs involved with this move. They hit a snag, a snafu (that's Army-talk for Situation Normal, All Fucked Up) as it were, this past week. Up to now they were very happy with the house they'd found, gleeful in fact. They felt that it was "in God's plan," for them. This snag, this snafu, caused them to begin to doubt the rightness of the house for them. Just for a moment. They have continued ahead with the move because the house really is a good place for them. It really is a good decision. But the conversations and prayers have gotten me thinking. I've been thinking about how we perceive and communicate God's plan in our lives.
It's quite common in the evangelical/institutional church to discuss "God's plan" for one's life as if it's a blue print that may be discerned by a variety of means. Some of those means are almost magical and require spiritual gifts and talents that merge with those of a nature that I liken to tarot card reading, looking into a crystal ball, or prophesying and divining (and I don't mean in God's name). People wonder if they're going to the "right" college (i.e. the one that is in "God's" plan for their lives), or if they're marrying the "right" person, or taking the "right" job, or purchasing the "right" house or the "right" car and so they look around for signs and symbols that they are making the "right" decision. That is, the decision that puts them on the path that is in "God's Plan" for their lives.
Increasingly, I am having a hard time with that line of thinking. I used to think like that. I used to think that there was a "right" decision to make and a "wrong" one about things like jobs and colleges and cars and such. (I still think there might be a right and wrong mate, but that has nothing to do with God's plan and everything to do with personalities and character and traits and things). I'm not sure that God really cares about which college I go to. Okay, well, I'm not going to college. I don't think S/He cares about which car I drive, other than the fact that cars degrade creation. So in my decision to purchase a car, I ought to take that into account. I need to take my income into account when I'm purchasing a home so that I can continue to be obedient to God's call in my life after purchasing a home ... but I'm pretty certain that God doesn't particularly care which house I choose. It's just a house. And any cover over our head is a blessing.
I think that something very uncomfortable has happened in Western evangelicalism. We've taken a verse out of context and made it mean something very adverse to its original purpose. In times of decision people often quote Jeremiah 29:11 (and listeners nod knowingly). Some people have even co-opted it as their "life" verse. So I went to the chapter and re-read the whole thing this morning. Here's the verse all by itself. Actually, I'm just going to quote the part that people usually say all alone: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, ... " Then they put that with a bit about the sparrows and the lillies in the field (parables in Matthew) and come up with an idea that God has put together an individualized blue print for each of our lives. If we could just divine that blueprint and live accordingly, we'd have a perfect happy life.
I have a lot of problems with the picture that paints of God. What kind of God is it that has a perfect plan for Her children, but keeps it secret? Which of us, as parents, has plans for our children, but dangles only enough details for them to get in trouble and then holds them accountable? Even we humans are not that evil. That paints a picture of a mean, stingy God who is waiting for His children to get into trouble. The God I read about in scripture loves us. Loves us enough to give us free will. But having a closely held blueprint and a free will I think are somewhat oxymoronish. If my path to sanctification lies through that blueprint, but I cannot know the details, and I have a free will to do what I choose, then do I have a free will at all? If my path is already chosen, do I actually have free will? I know that some would say that free will lies in my choice to be obedient to the path, the blueprint, or not. But I don't quite believe that. Here's why.
I went to Jeremiah chapter 29 and read the whole thing. The first verse stunned me. Chapter 29 of Jeremiah is a letter! It is a letter from God to the exiled Hebrews in Babylon. The first four verses are the bona fides. But verse five gets into the meat of what God wants the Israelites to hear from him. So read with me now:
5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD.
10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 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. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. [b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
15 You may say, "The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon," 16 but this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David's throne and all the people who remain in this city, your countrymen who did not go with you into exile- 17 yes, this is what the LORD Almighty says: "I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth and an object of cursing and horror, of scorn and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. 19 For they have not listened to my words," declares the LORD, "words that I sent to them again and again by my servants the prophets. And you exiles have not listened either," declares the LORD.
20 Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: "I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. 22 Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: 'The LORD treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned in the fire.' 23 For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and in my name have spoken lies, which I did not tell them to do. I know it and am a witness to it," declares the LORD.
When I read this letter, I hear the words of a parent speaking peace and calm to a troubled child. I hear myself saying to my children things such as, "Whoa, you really screwed up this time. Here are the consequences of your bad behavior. But you're going to live. You'll survive and thrive. I still love you and want what is best for you. When you calm down, you can join us again at the dinner table." Okay ... I know that's the human version and God has much more stringent standards of behavior than I do. But I think you get the picture. What this verse does NOT say is that God has a plan for our lives that involves which college to choose, which car, which house, which mate ... that's why S/He gave us free will and good brains.
I think that God’s will or plan for us is best is expressed in the Jesus Creed … The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. The second is like it; love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). I think that Jesus’ whole life, death and resurrection were in accordance with those two sentences; which fulfilled God’s will for him, became the example we follow. I guess what I’m saying is that I believe that we are free to make the best use possible of the gifts we’ve been given in order to spread the Love of the Father to others. Those gifts may be physical (e.g. money, food, shelter, hospitality) or they may be temporal (e.g. abilities, talents, skills). It’s not about the car, house, or college, but about our heart’s motivation in the place where we are when we’re there. We can live in penury and have a stingy black heart which does nothing to love God or love our neighbors. Or we can live in a mansion with open hands glorifying God and sharing our gifts. It is not the place that makes it ”right,” it is the direction that our heart is facing.
I believe that generally S/He wishes to bless us, to bring good into our lives (whether or not we can recognize it). Generally, our desire (because of our love response) might be to spread that love around to others using our gifts and talents. In that way, we are living within Her plan for our lives. But I'm beginning to think that where and how and when we do it, is kind of up to us. We're grown ups, after all. Praying about those decisions (as in whether or not to do those things), I'm increasingly thinking, might be like praying for better cookies in the cookie jar. It just might be a little trivial. What do you think?
Sonja Andrews blogs at Calacirian, lives in Virginia, vacations in Vermont, daydreams in Montana, homeschools in her diningroom and quilts in her spare time.
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Sonja, I have to disagree with you on this subject. Yes, we are always called throughout everyday of our lives to love others and share Christ with them. However, alongside that daily will, I believe that God has a specific purpose for each of us. He does care where we choose to go to college and what career we undertake. I don't think that He cares about what color my house should be, but He cares about the geographic location (state, city, country) that we decide to live in. He cares about who we decide to marry.
Unfortunately, God does not reveal His will for us in a letter that addresses everything ahead of time -- although we would prefer that He did. God does not operate the way we necessarily would. Instead, God wants us to seek Him for His will. If we are serious about doing things His way, we will walk with Him --allowing Him to lead. Along the way, He changes us. The challenge is sacrificing what I would rather do in order that I may follow His lead.
hey guys, I agree with both of you. I believe that God has a plan for our lives and I also dont believe that He only has one path for us to take. Psalm 37:4 says, "delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." I dont think that means that God will give you everything you want, I think that means if you put your life in His hands He will place desires in your heart; like where you should live, and where you should work. I think He uses those desires and passions to work His plan out in our lives.
Far too often we overspiritualize it by saying, "well I think I need to wait on a word from the Lord." While I do think prayer if vital, sometimes we need to get off our knees and walk life out; we need to live lives of passion and allow the Spirit in our hearts guide our steps. Just a few thought
I've been thinking about this for awhile, I thought I was the only one! I don't believe God has a certain mate for us, house, car, job, college, etc. I think he gave us a brain, and expects us to use it. He gave us a free will, to make good choices or bad, and we learn from experience. I've had people ask why when they prayed for a certain thing, car etc, it turned out to be a lousy car, job etc. I don't think it has to do with us not hearing God correctly, or not praying hard enough, I just think that's what happens. How else can you explain someone praying over and over if this is the mate God wants for them, and then the marriage ends in divorce, or praying if they should buy this certain car, and it turns out to be a lemon.
I've known people, including myself at times, who have overanalyzed life in trying to make the 'right' decisions, and end up not making decisions for fear of making the wrong one. In my experience, life isn't perfect, and obsessing over making perfect decisions is missing the point. Now, I think God does care about where we go in life and what we do, because I believe God cares about the little things. He is the God who is with us through all the ups and downs in life. He is the ones who guides, sometimes giving obvious paths, and sometimes being silent. Part of faith is simply taking a step, a risk, not always knowing where we'll end up, but sure that God will lead, step by step. Part of free will is that other people have free will, and they we follow God, others can affect the path we walk. I'd also say that though I've prayed, my life hasn't gone where I thought it would go, and that is partially because God has brought me to different places, but also because I, frankly, don't always make the best decision. Sin affects my actions, and that affects my path and decisions. However, I believe God is always present, ready to redeem my path. That path may be specific, or maybe there are multiple choices I could make that he would bless. Sometimes, too, we put a decision on God's shoulders that we ourselves our mature enough to make. The point is not that we shouldn't seek God's wisdom, we should. The point is that sometimes we need to act in faith, and let God be God. He's created us to be who we are wherever we happen to be, and learning to be who He created me to be is far more important to me right now.
simple common sense proves the value of learning by trial and error, but I think Christians have a dim view of learning by trial and error. like if you make an error, then it means you didn't seek God hard enough. if you had, then you wouldn't have made the error. this is bs.
I was just working on a sermon about Jer 29:11 when I came across your thoughts. The misunderstanding about plans in this context is has to do with how that verse is translated. You could also say "thoughts" instead of "plans" which makes the statement less rigid.
I think there is a general "plan" or goal that God has for human history and there are individual vocations. But the latter leave a lot of room for creativity. Unless you actually turn your back on God, he will keep you on track. But then, there was Jonah. So even if you run...
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Sonja, I have to disagree with you on this subject. Yes, we are always called throughout everyday of our lives to love others and share Christ with them. However, alongside that daily will, I believe that God has a specific purpose for each of us. He does care where we choose to go to college and what career we undertake. I don't think that He cares about what color my house should be, but He cares about the geographic location (state, city, country) that we decide to live in. He cares about who we decide to marry.
Unfortunately, God does not reveal His will for us in a letter that addresses everything ahead of time -- although we would prefer that He did. God does not operate the way we necessarily would. Instead, God wants us to seek Him for His will. If we are serious about doing things His way, we will walk with Him --allowing Him to lead. Along the way, He changes us. The challenge is sacrificing what I would rather do in order that I may follow His lead.
Posted by Holly | Posted at 08/10/2007 1:11 PMhey guys, I agree with both of you. I believe that God has a plan for our lives and I also dont believe that He only has one path for us to take. Psalm 37:4 says, "delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." I dont think that means that God will give you everything you want, I think that means if you put your life in His hands He will place desires in your heart; like where you should live, and where you should work. I think He uses those desires and passions to work His plan out in our lives.
Far too often we overspiritualize it by saying, "well I think I need to wait on a word from the Lord." While I do think prayer if vital, sometimes we need to get off our knees and walk life out; we need to live lives of passion and allow the Spirit in our hearts guide our steps. Just a few thought
Posted by jeff | Posted at 08/11/2007 9:28 AMI've been thinking about this for awhile, I thought I was the only one! I don't believe God has a certain mate for us, house, car, job, college, etc. I think he gave us a brain, and expects us to use it. He gave us a free will, to make good choices or bad, and we learn from experience. I've had people ask why when they prayed for a certain thing, car etc, it turned out to be a lousy car, job etc. I don't think it has to do with us not hearing God correctly, or not praying hard enough, I just think that's what happens. How else can you explain someone praying over and over if this is the mate God wants for them, and then the marriage ends in divorce, or praying if they should buy this certain car, and it turns out to be a lemon. Posted by Ellen Miller | Posted at 08/12/2007 10:16 AM
I've known people, including myself at times, who have overanalyzed life in trying to make the 'right' decisions, and end up not making decisions for fear of making the wrong one. In my experience, life isn't perfect, and obsessing over making perfect decisions is missing the point. Now, I think God does care about where we go in life and what we do, because I believe God cares about the little things. He is the God who is with us through all the ups and downs in life. He is the ones who guides, sometimes giving obvious paths, and sometimes being silent. Part of faith is simply taking a step, a risk, not always knowing where we'll end up, but sure that God will lead, step by step. Part of free will is that other people have free will, and they we follow God, others can affect the path we walk. I'd also say that though I've prayed, my life hasn't gone where I thought it would go, and that is partially because God has brought me to different places, but also because I, frankly, don't always make the best decision. Sin affects my actions, and that affects my path and decisions. However, I believe God is always present, ready to redeem my path. That path may be specific, or maybe there are multiple choices I could make that he would bless. Sometimes, too, we put a decision on God's shoulders that we ourselves our mature enough to make. The point is not that we shouldn't seek God's wisdom, we should. The point is that sometimes we need to act in faith, and let God be God. He's created us to be who we are wherever we happen to be, and learning to be who He created me to be is far more important to me right now. Posted by Seth | Posted at 08/12/2007 8:37 PM
simple common sense proves the value of learning by trial and error, but I think Christians have a dim view of learning by trial and error. like if you make an error, then it means you didn't seek God hard enough. if you had, then you wouldn't have made the error. this is bs. Posted by Hippo | Posted at 08/13/2007 5:34 AM
I was just working on a sermon about Jer 29:11 when I came across your thoughts. The misunderstanding about plans in this context is has to do with how that verse is translated. You could also say "thoughts" instead of "plans" which makes the statement less rigid.
I think there is a general "plan" or goal that God has for human history and there are individual vocations. But the latter leave a lot of room for creativity. Unless you actually turn your back on God, he will keep you on track. But then, there was Jonah. So even if you run...
Posted by Peter Aschoff | Posted at 08/17/2007 12:34 AM