Am I Following God's Plan for my Life?
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Being an adult is exhausting
So many things to think about! Sometimes I’m jealous of my kids...
“Various sources suggest that the average adult makes 33,000 to 35,000 total decisions each day, including what we will eat, what we will wear, what we will say, and how we’ll say it.” (Amanda Reill, Harvar Business Review)
Lots of those are small decisions, but some of them are BIG
One big question is our focus today: “Am I following God’s plan for my life?”
Includes many life-altering decisions like where to go to school, what career to pursue, who to marry, where to live, and any changes to those situations as you get older
As Christians, we (rightly) want to seek God’s will and direction for those questions
What does the Bible say about God’s plan for my life?
How can I hear God clearly and follow His lead?
We need to settle two key issues before we unpack these questions
Pray
Bust the Myth of The Sacred Timeline
Bust the Myth of The Sacred Timeline
The first thing: We need to bust the myth of the “sacred timeline”
Your life is NOT an epsiode of “Loki”
Explain the concept of the sacred timeline in Loki along with deviants being “pruned”
God isn’t sitting up in heaven, disappointed when you stray off the “one true path”
We put undue pressure on ourselves when we believe that we mess up God’s plan for our life if we make the wrong choice or miss His will when it is hard to hear
One great example of this is the sense of having to marry “the one”
Young adults can be frozen by fear of marrying the wrong person, missing the opportunity to meet the right person, settling for something second best… all without biblical reason
I can’t provide a Scriptural reference to the one, true, sacred timeline because it doesn’t exist
We create this idea out of our knowledge that God knows the “sacred timeline”
He is omniscient (all-knowing) and exists outside of time (past, present and future)
At the heart, when we think that missing God’s leading can wreck His plan in our life, we are giving ourselves too much credit
It is true that we can make wise or foolish decisions (and deal with consequences of each)
But God is big enough, and sovereign enough, not to throw up his hands in frustration because we didn’t go the right school or accept the right job or ask a specific person out on a date
Sometimes, we may not see or hear God’s leading very clearly because there can be more than one correct choice
Share my exasperation at God’s silence when choosing between Briercrest and Providence
This WAS a life-altering decision! I am literally your pastor today thanks to that choice
But it would be foolish and closed-minded to think that God could not have honoured a different decision and looked after me if I chose the other path
So do not put unbiblical pressure on yourself. God is bigger than your decisions and plans, and He can often put multiple good options in front of you
How Over Where
How Over Where
In fact, I would say God isn’t as interested in where you go as He is in how you live when you get there
Cf. Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
What is good? What does the Lord require of you? What is the Lord asking us to do? What is His will?
Do justice
God was adamant that His people treat others well and look after the marginalized (widows and orphans)
He could not STAND injustice putting some people unfairly ahead of others at their expense
So He institued the year of Jubilee in the covenant with His people (in Lev. 25)
During this year, economic debts were to be forgiven, land restored to families who sold in order to repay debt, and slaves sold to repay debt were to be liberated (Factbook)
Not enough to love justice, we must DO it; put it into action
No evidence that the children of Israel ever celebrated the year of Jubilee; their rampant injustice was one of the main reasons for eventual exile
What does it look like for us to “do justice” today?
Treat everyone fairly and with respect
Do not push others down to pull yourself up at their expense (i.e., belittle co-workers to gain an advantage)
Look out for the marginalized and those who do not have the resources to help themselves (i.e., partnering with SCO, Southeast Helping Hands, Soups On, etc.)
Love kindness (steadfast, loyal love)
Love… love? That’s the exact right idea
Not just any love, but a loyal love that God displays towards you
First we return God’s loyal love, then we extend it towards those around us
Refer to learning about the parable of the prodigal son in FG; father racing out to meet his son… this is loyal love
Walk humbly with your God
This gives us a great picture of following God’s plan for your life: No matter where you go, walk humbly with your God
Walk = life is a journey, and we are to remember that God is with us every step of the way
Humbly = a submission that decides that God takes the lead (half step in front)
We love what He loves; His priorities become our priorities; we obey His commandments; we trust in Him
When we live in this way, we will thrive in all the situations we find ourselves in
At school, do justice, love love and walk humbly with God. At work; at home; in your community
THIS is God’s will for you!
And as you live this way, it WILL postively impact your ability to make God-honouring decisions
“These [decisions] happen automatically and simultaneously through the information we’ve suboncisouly stored about is “good” or “bad.” Gerald Zaltman, a Harvard Business School professor, suggests that 95% of our congition occrus in the subconscious mind. This is by necessity - our brains would short-circuit if we had to weigh more than 30,000 decisions one by one” (Amanda Reill, Harvard Business Review)
To do justice, love love and walk humbly with God will infuse our decisions, both mundane every day decisions, and big life-altering decisions
God Still Leads You
God Still Leads You
Once we have busted the myth of the “sacred timeline” and acknowledged that God is more interested in how we live wherever we go, we are ready to learn that God still cares to lead you in your life.
Cf. Romans 12:1-2.
He cares about the details of your life, both big and small
He cares enough to listen to you, answer you, and offer His leading (when need be)
How can we know this? How can we hear from God and follow His lead?
God leads you:
Through giving you the ability to make wise, educated decisions
We have a role to play, and asking God for guidance is NOT a shortcut to using our abilities to make informed decisions
Talk about my penchant for researching (Consumer Reports, rtings.com, etc.)
Through what He has already revealed in His Word
Cf. Psalm 119:105.
More than just a revelation of right and wrong, we can hold up our potential decisions to Scripture and see how they match up
Does this decision reflect God’s character? His priorities? Does it bring Him glory?
God will never lead us down a path that goes against what He has already revealed to be true
Through a process of discernment (show graphic):
Get Ready: clarify the question and your values
Get Set: pray for indifference, wisdom and quiet trust
Go: listen and look for feelings of consolation and desolation
Do: put a God-led plan into action
Through the accountability of other Christ-followers
Don’t try to do this on your own
Too easy to be deceived by our own thoughts, desires and biases
Include others that you trust and who have the same values you do
God will often use trusted people in your life to help guide you
Conclusion
Conclusion
Hopefully this helps answer the question, “Am I following God’s plan for my life?”
Take the pressure off of yourself about deviating from the “sacred timeline.”
Recognize that God is most interested in how you go somewhere instead of where you go
Do justice, love steadfast love and walk humbly with your God
Bring specific questions of guidance before God
He cares about the details of your life, listens to your questions and chooses to answer in His will and His timing
Pray