I want to write an essay saying the statistical chance of God having a specific plan for your life is roughly 1 in 227. I’d base that statistic on scripture, because scripturally, for every one person God had a specific plan for, there were 226 He did not. Joseph was in, Benjamin was out and so on.
Okay, I haven’t actually done the math. It may be 1 in 250 or 1 in 95, but that is hardly the point. The point is we think God is going to tell us exactly what to do, but chances are, He isn’t. It’s just not a Biblical idea.
God does have a general desire for everybody, for them to be reunited with the Trinity through Christ, and for them to have food and shelter and relationships, but I don’t believe God has mapped out a plan for your every day, or even for your every year.
My friends who disagree and think God has a specific plan for everybody are mostly sitting around waiting to hear from God. Meanwhile, God’s plan for them, apparently, is to shop at Bed Bath and Beyond and quote the latest Saturday Night Live skit. Quite the plan.
I contend with this idea for a number of reasons, but the main reason is that I don’t think God is a control freak.
Imagine visiting a friends house for dinner for the first time. You sit down at the table and the father, who sits at the head of the table, tells each of the kids, and the wife for that matter, what and when to eat. Then he tells them what to wear to bed, when they will be getting up, where they will be going to college and who they will be married to. Later, you tell your friend you thought their dad might be a bit controlling. You secretly believe their family to be dysfunctional. But your friend is offended. They think it’s perfectly normal to want to please their father in everything they do. And they are right, it is appropriate to want to please ones father. The only problem is, their father is NUTS!
God, on the other hand, isn’t nuts.
If God is fathering us, He is helping us discover what is good, right, pure, and worthy to pursue. He teaches us morality and ethics, but also gave us a heart filled with desire and longing. It’s as though God sets before us a big sheet of butcher paper and hands us a box of crayons and tells us to dream.
I’ve a friend whose wife is a counselor who does this very experiment with kids she counsels. She gives them a sheet of paper and some crayons, and based on how they respond, she can tell whether or not the child has a dysfunctional relationship with their parents.
But I could be wrong. Here’s how you know, based on scripture, whether God has a specific plan for your life:
1. If you are a virgin and you get pregnant anyway.
2. If your donkey talks to you.
3. If an angel wants to wrestle.
If any of this happens to you, God is definitely at work. He also wants you to see a counselor.
And there are a few more. You get the point. If God has something specific for you, you’ll know, I promise. But if He is setting a box of crayons down in front of you (a box of crayons called life) then by all means draw. He’s taught you right from wrong, good from bad, beautiful from profane, so draw. He will be with you, proud of you, cheering you on, so draw. He loves you, so draw in the inspiration of the knowledge of His love. Draw a purple horse, a red ocean, a nine-legged dog, it doesn’t matter. Lets stop being so afraid. Lets live, and show the world what it really means to be grateful we don’t live in a dysfunctional family.
Wow. That really was incredible. Thank you so much for those words. You’re an amazing writer. I’m sorry I don’t know who you are, but being that I enjoy writing as well, I’d enjoy sharing a conversation some time.
What about Joshua, Esther, Ruth, Deborah, David, Daniel, and so many others that God used in big ways? They were ordinary people like me. God had a specific plan for them. He has a specific plan for me. His plan isn’t centered around me. But he has a plan for this world and a purpose for me in that plan. Sometimes, it’s big like leaving home for a strange new land. Sometimes, it’s small like telling the adulterer how to find forgiveness. So far, no talking donkeys.
i agree with u but its confusing when you wait i dont know until when and they aint anything happening
Hi Donald,
Great thoughts on a great subject. Another way of saying it might be that for every time God gives someone a specific task to do, He tells another “whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it for I am with you.”
I think that much of the grappling with this subject comes from our ideas surrounding God’s “calling”. For many in my dad’s generation, those who felt “called” into ministry naturally went into seminary and then into church work. For many in that generation, the call was to a profession…a career. I still shudder when the last day of youth camp features a parade of those who feel “called” into full time ministry; what does this say to all the future lawyers, teachers, ice cream vendors, etc. about God’s call on their life?
I have to remind myself, that my calling is not to a profession but to the person of Jesus and He’s not sitting there like a spiritual
bourgeois ready to assign my life task(s). More simply put, God’s will is not the pressure of hitting some bulls-eye but the freedom of launching as many arrows as my hand finds strength to launch. Thanks for taking on this subject.
Ben,
I totally resonate with your thoughts in your second paragraph. Recently, I attended a youth camp where that happened, and I thought the exact same thing. It’s like anything outside of “ministry” is a lower calling, when, in reality, whatever a Christ-follower does vocationally IS (or at least SHOULD be) ministry.
I’ve struggled so much choosing a vocation because I’ve been waiting on God to open the sky and drop the answer down on me. I have so many different interests, and I’ve had trouble figuring out which one to pursue. This article has helped me tremendously, as I’ve currently been in a vicious struggle about my “calling.” Ironically, I’m actually resigning from full-time ministry because I’m sure that’s not the calling on my life. I know that would almost be heretical to say in front of many Christians, but it’s the truth. So now what? I’ve been trying to decide about pursuing a specific business venture. I’m going for it.
This post is great and right on time for me. Valid points, Donald. When you write your book, I’ll be buying it and promoting it.
This is exactly what I needed to hear today. Really brought things back to perspective! Thank you for sharing.
[...] read an article that Don Miller wrote (he’s written books such as Blue Like Jazz), where he talks about how [...]
I think God does have a plan specific to each person…but, since he did give us the freedom to choose, if we do choose another path, it doesn’t mean we are outside of God’s will forever. His plans are perfect for us ( who else knows us as …well) and our plans for ourselves are many times not so perfect, but that doesn’t mean God won’t bless the path we’ve chosen or that he can no longer use us…it’s kinda like if the path split into 3 directions…one is the path God created for us, one goes the opposite direction, and one kinda goes all over the place but eventually ends up at eternal life with God…we still end up with him, it just wasn’t the most perfect way…See More
[...] you should read a blog by Don Miller because he is awesome. Tweet Tags: Andrew Farley, Donald Miller, Finding God's Will For [...]
[...] you should read a blog by Don Miller, because he is awesome. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]
The problem I have with your theory, Don, is this: it implies that God created us randomly with no real purpose other than to explore — for our own, personal interest — the life that is around us, with God sitting up in heaven as some sort of divine baby sitter. You attempt to make an analogy between God and and a healthy earthly parent, who allows his/her child to roam and “paint” freely, discovering life for him-/herself at will. That theory is consistent with God allowing us free will, but it is inconsistent with a God who made us each to have unique and meaningful roles in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). Your analogy also quickly breaks down when you consider that your earthly mom or dad didn’t create you in the sense of intentionally weaving together your innermost being, as Psalm 139 indicates is true of God, the ultimate creator. Sure, earthly mom and dad intentionally (or not) procreated, but they had no say on how you would turn out as an individual, what your deepest desires would be, etc. God, on the other hand, does.
If God is a Donald-Miller-type-God — this divine baby sitter who is indifferent as to how we “paint” our “canvas” that is life — that’s a pretty sad reality. It is a reality that implies that I have no real purpose in life; and conversely, that if I want to have a real purpose, it’s something that *I* must unilaterally create for myself… all while divine-baby-sitter God sits upstairs watching TV, snacking on potato chips, and making sure that I keep my “crayons” on the “canvas.” It implies a God who is ambivalent to my deepest desires and hit-or-miss on His ability to actually do anything about providing/meeting them during my earthly life. That is not a reality that I am willing to accept, and I don’t think it’s based in scripture. For the record, I have *painted* my own canvas — I am an attorney — but I can look back and show you countless ways that God specifically, intentionally, and lovingly intervened, closed doors, protected, and guided me to get where I currently am… and, believe me, being an attorney *fits* who I am in a deep, deep way and I am excited to see how God will *intentionally* AND *specifically* continue to guide me and use me. Does he have other plans? Sure, but they are exactly that: PLANS. He plainly states that He will “instruct you and counsel you in the way in which you should go” (Psalm 32:8).
Are you, Don, really telling me that you don’t think God had anything to do with proactively directing your path to become a renowned author who inspires meaningful dialogue among Christians?
Do you believe that we are ultimately created for relationship with God? If so, what is that relationship supposed to look like? Is it really as hands-off as you purport it to be? Do you really not think that God has certain *tangible* things that he would like to accomplish in and through each one of us while we are on earth? I’m not saying that He was one specific plan (go to college X, marry wife Y, pursue career Z), but He certainly is a God who has planS for us and who, if we seek out those ways, will meet us, answer us, and respond with intentional guidance and direction. THAT is relationship. THAT is where intimacy is born. THAT reflects God’s love much more than does the divine-baby-sitter model.
Thank you Donald for validating what I’ve always believed all along: we have never needed God. We forge our own plan for our lives. He does not interfere with my will because He couldn’t care either way. Your right! He doesn’t have a plan for our lives. He has never planned to love us. He has never planned to bless us. He has never planned to provide for us. If I want love I have to plan it. If I want grace I have to plan it. He doesn’t have a plan because He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care because He doesn’t exist.
u know, although it sounds good, takes the pressure off, now i dont have to ‘hit the mark’ i think i will have to agree with Jeremy’s take on it with scripture. God’s thoughts are higher than ours, we have to submit to His word and not let ourselves be fairytailed around here, it is what it is. We are His and He cares enough to direct our path, be our Holy Guide and Counselor, our Strength when we are too weak to finish the task on our own. His grace takes us farther than we can imagine if we are aware of it or not.
Wow, did you guys even read the article?
The point is that if God hasn’t specifically promised us something, we should not live as though he has. It’s idiotic. I know because I used to do it all the time.
FOR EXAMPLE
If God hasn’t promised you a spouse, it would be foolish to live as though he has. You will miss opportunities and be passive because “God has it covered” and will do it for you. The truth is that all men and women choose who they marry, and they all have standards. If you do not meet those standards, you will not get married save for a miracle.
If God hasn’t promised you a specific job, it would be foolish to live as though he has. You’ll miss job opportunities or work at less than 100% because “God has it covered”
If there isn’t a single thing you can point to in your life where God promised it, yet act like he has, you’re not only living like a fool, you’re putting words in God’s mouth … it’s pretty much lying. You’re actually calling your own thoughts and feelings the promises of God. Used to do this all the time.
God gave us minds to think with. To make decisions with. Bodies to do things with. The ability to make plans. The thing is, people are lazy. They don’t like to use their minds. They don’t like to put in the work to achieve something great. They don’t LIKE the idea that they are the ones that are truly responsible for how crappy (or amazing) their lives are. So what do they do? They put it all on God.
If God gave us so much freedom, so much power, so much ability, so much creativity, so much choice, so many options — only to not let us use any of it, then God is the greatest troll to ever exist. A cosmic joker. Life is the greatest trick ever played on man. A complete lie and contradiction.
“So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.”
all you are is right because thts what u believe or think. People in life are facing different challenges and you dont know what those people are going through. Most of you dont take it serious because you got something. Im talking of someone born poor die poor born in bondage die in bondage the vulnerable in societies are you saying that was the plan for them