God Has Great Plans for You

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:6-7 CSB)

Teaching is the most difficult and most rewarding job I have ever had. However, it took me a while to get there. When I first went to college, my career goal was to be a teacher. I quickly declared my major as English with a minor in secondary education. However, a couple of semesters into college I definitively declared, “I don’t want to be a teacher!” I changed my major to a double major in English and history, and I became the editor of the school newspaper. I was still unsure exactly what I wanted to do when I graduated, but I knew I did not want to be a teacher.

My major and experience with newspaper (and a little bit of radio) led me into a ten-year career in publishing. After my children started school, I began to substitute teach, and that led me to start teaching full-time. I went back to school to get my master’s degree in education, and now I have been a teacher for almost twelve years.

It’s pretty funny considering how emphatic I was that teaching wasn’t for me. However, the timing was totally God’s timing. Looking back, I don’t think I would have been a good teacher at twenty-two. Beginning my teaching career in my early thirties, after I had children of my own, has made me a better teacher. I think I needed the experiences my publishing career offered before I stepped into a classroom. Also, I started my career as an elementary school teacher, and I said I would never teach middle school. I have been teaching middle school going on six years now, and I love it!

Most of the time, God’s timing is not our timing. Sometimes it takes years to see how things work out, but do not be discouraged when life is not following your plan. We can trust God—he has great plans.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jeremiah 29:11 CSB)

I am a planner by nature. I am not very spontaneous. I like life to follow a logical course. One of my biggest struggles is stepping back from my perceived control of situations. I struggle with turning everything over to the Lord. I know God has great plans for me, but I have a hard time moving forward when I can’t see a well-defined plan in front of me. Looking back, I can see how God’s plans have worked out, but I still struggle with trusting that I don’t have to have a plan all the time.

How do we get past this struggle? I don’t have any easy answers. It is a daily, sometimes hourly, struggle. We have to look at every situation as a way to draw closer to the Lord. We have to read the Bible regularly and pray constantly!

What does it mean to “give something over to the Lord,” anyway? I heard the best explanation of this several weeks ago during the Sunday sermon at my church. Our pastor explained that our growth in Christ is a process. Every day we are walking a path toward sanctification, and it is a lifelong process. “Giving something over to God” doesn’t mean you are never going to think or worry about it again.

I mistakenly believed this for years. I felt my faith was lacking because I just couldn’t “let go and let God” or [insert any other Christian cliché here]. We are human, we will still dwell on and worry about things. Turning our lives over to God should be about learning not to hold onto our burdens and to hold onto Christ instead.

Turning our lives over to the Lord is not a one-prayer-and-done exercise. When whatever we are trying to turn over to God rears its ugly head, we need to immediately turn to the Lord. Pray, study, worship, be still with him. Also, our troubles and worries may not be solved in the way we see fit. Most of the time, immediate solutions will not present themselves. However, we should use all of our experiences—good and bad—to draw closer to the Lord. We should not simply look for our problems to be solved when we go to the Lord. We should invest in our relationship with him because he has great plans of his own—for us.

Making plans is good and responsible. However, we need to not cling so tightly to our man-made schemes. We need to have room for God. Those of us who desire control need to loosen our grip. I was so sure as a college student that I never wanted to teach—that it wasn’t the path for me. Now, I can’t imagine not having my teaching career. I have learned so much and have had so many wonderful and meaningful experiences, and I have gotten to know some of the greatest kids. God’s timing is always perfect.

Dear Lord, Thank you for your perfect timing. Guide us to follow your lead humbly and worshipfully. Strengthen our faith and our trust in you. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:6-7 CSB)

“Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant,  equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21 CSB)

“Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23 CSB)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB)

 Reach for More

What are your plans? Write them down, the big and the small. In what ways can you make sure the Lord is first in your plans? Read the Bible, pray, and then sit down with your planner and make adjustments to ensure your schedule and plans glorify the Lord. Finally, surrender your plans and ask the Lord to help you hold them loosely each day.

Dana Herndon is a writer, blogger, and middle school teacher. She and her husband live in Georgia with their three children. In addition to teaching and writing, Dana loves to read, paddle board, and sometimes run. She blogs about faith, family, and enjoying the everyday life at danaherndon.com.

Photograph © Priscilla Du Preez, used with permission