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God does have a detailed plan for our lives, and I think
that it is very important for us to acknowledge this and its implications:
Psalm 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose
for me.
Psalm 138:7–8 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my
enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for
me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.
The fact that Our Lord has a
detailed plan for our lives points to His overriding concern and love for us.
He cares for every little detail, even the number of hairs on our heads:
Matthew 10:29–31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Because He loves and esteems us so highly, we trust Him to take care of even the smallest matters. Therefore, we need not worry:
Isaiah 43:1–5 But now thus says the LORD, he who
created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have
redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through
the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not
overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the
flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of
Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for
you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give
men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am
with you…
Nevertheless, we do fear. This is
why our Lord encourages us to not fear. What better assurance can we have that
He has demonstrated His love for us even when we were His enemies (Romans
5:8-10). We also need not fear because He is our redemption, salvation, and
sanctification. Consequently, we are safe in Him, embraced by His love:
Colossians 1:21–22 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
He intends to make us “holy and blameless,” and has guaranteed it by making us His workmanship:
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We need not worry about the choices
we make and whether we will succeed. We can cast all our cares upon Him because
He really cares about us (1 Peter 5:7). Our Lord is even sovereign over our
efforts and obedience:
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
It’s all in the hands of our
Savior. This frees us from self-concern, self-trust, and the pressures to prove
ourselves. On a grander level, for those who have committed their lives to
Jesus, it’s all about Him and not about us:
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
As we continue to embrace this
truth, we can begin to rest in Him, knowing that He is in complete control of
our lives (Romans 8:28), far more so than our doctor or our advisor.
We need only meditate on these
truths and commit ourselves to them:
Psalm 37:4–7 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…
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