God Has Great Plans

How many times have we heard that said. God has great plans for you.

It seems I have heard it a lot lately. But in the context, I have heard it (or even said it) over the past few years, it just has not set well with me.

I mean, doesn’t God have great plans for all of us. I know we may need to be reminded of that at times, but truly sometimes when I hear it said, it sounds like he only has great plans for certain people.

At one time, I may have thought that too. But not anymore.

Call it school of hard knocks, getting hurt one too many times, or perhaps something that is happening with age and maturing or “becoming seasoned” as someone in one of my groups says. But over the last few years, I have had a total change of perspective. I hope for the better. I want to think so.

I have recently read a few good books. All of them are about love. Loving like Jesus does. Without judgement. Without rules. Just loving others as they are. Perhaps something I have not always been good at. Not that I didn’t love. But if they weren’t like me or didn’t believe like I did, then maybe I didn’t believe God would either and that He didn’t have great plans for them or they weren’t “blessed” because they certainly weren’t living the way they should.

In Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the Choir, “Father G” tells of his interactions with gang members and how he has helped them turn their lives around. He opens our eyes on how to love, “the least of these”. Starting Homeboy Industries in the heart of gang territory in California he reaches out to what most would consider “the least of these”. And he loves them. Without judgement, without rules…. just loves and shares his life with them.

When you watch people not always live up to the potential you know they have it is sometimes easy to believe that God may not have great plans for them. But who are we to say what is and isn’t great plans? Who is to say that the one who makes it one more day drug free or keeping a job isn’t just as good as the one who makes millions and inspires others?

When my son was in an accident a few years ago, of course we all said that God must have great plans for him since his life was surely spared. Perhaps it was through this time that some of my perspective really started to change. I mean I almost started to hate hearing people say that to him. Like if he didn’t change his ways God wasn’t going to have great plans for him. I think God had great plans for him from the moment he gave him to us. Just like every person born. I think we are all born as part of and because of God’s great plan and His great plans for us.

I mean just because his life was spared, what about the next young boy that may lose his, did God not have great plans for him. Yes, yes, he did. And how do we know that those plans were not fulfilled?

Maybe I need to think about how what I saw will affect someone. Really think how it is going to impact them. Will it comfort the mother who lost her son to think that God may not have had great plans for him because he didn’t live a full life…? no. Will it change how a young man acts after recovering from trauma? Probably not…in fact if he can’t live up to how he hears those words, it can be worse. Perhaps just a hug or smile or acceptance of the here and now is all that is needed. No pressure. Just love.

That is all that is needed. Just love.

Changing perspective is not always an easy thing, but sometimes it is the necessary thing. It was for me.

God Has Great Plans

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