Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What makes your life meaningful, rewarding? We all have questions about the meaning and purpose of our lives. Only God has compelling answers. This video reveals a surprisingly simple way to know God’s purposes and His plans for your life.
0:00 God’s Plans for You are Personal and Specific
1:12 How to Know the Specific Works God Has For you
3:16 “Watch to see where God is working and join Him in His work.” Henry Blackaby
6:08 Paul & Silas Example
8:21 In My Life
9:17 Daily Assignments From God
10:06 Activation
As promised, here is a link to Henry Blackaby’s life-changing book: “Experiencing God.” https://amzn.to/4bmoDiS This is an affiliate link.
*God Has Plans for You – Specific, Detailed Plans
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God’s plans for you are specific and personal to you. They are not just general principles, but individual works.
Ephesians 2:10 NIV
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
*How Can You Know What These specific Works are?
1st Obviously, we need to surrender our lives to God so He can give meaning and purpose to our lives. We need to be born again and we need to surrender our daily lives to Him.
2nd Okay, then what? The next step is to pray and ask God for direction.
Like many people, I wanted a big vision and detailed plans for what to do and how to do it. God doesn’t give us that. He gives us the next step..
Finding God’s Plan Once You Have a General Direction
Pastor Henry Blackaby’s church felt God called them to establish a student ministry on a local college campus. There were thousands of students on this campus. Yet for almost 2 years they tried and failed to establish a Bible study in the dorms.
He writes, “One Sunday, I pulled our students together and said, “This week I want you to go to the campus and watch to see where God is working. If God shows you where He is working, immediately join Him!” They asked me to explain. God had impressed on my heart two Scriptures: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God” (Rom. 3:10–11) and “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44).
I explained, “According to these passages, people do not seek God on their own initiative. When you see someone seeking God or asking questions about Christianity, you are witnessing God at work.”
3 days later a young woman approached one of the students from Blackaby’s church and asked if she could help them lead a Bible study. From this a vibrant student ministry grew that impacted the lives of hundreds of college students.
From “Experiencing God,”
Henry’s Blackaby’s message: “Watch to see where God is working and join Him in His work.” has gone around the world. I’ve experienced the power of this myself many times.
*We see this in the lives of Paul and Silas
In Philippi, they looked to see where God was working.
Acts 16:13-15, Luke writes:
1”3 On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there.
Paul looked for people who already believed in God, but did not yet believe in Jesus because they didn’t know about him. Lydia became a Christian and helped them launch the church in Philippi.
*Look to see What God is Doing.
Wherever you are, look to see what God is doing.
When I was teaching in China in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, I wasn’t allowed to share Jesus or the gospel openly. So, I used to “go fishing.” At the end of the class, I would write a verse from Proverbs on the blackboard. I used proverbs that had a spiritual meaning. Then I would wait and see who came to my office hours in the afternoon to ask me what that Proverb meant. The students who came were the ones who were spiritually hungry. They were open to learn about Jesus. God was working in their hearts.
*We get our assignments from God daily.
Most of us want to know everything before we take a step. We want a 20 year plan and detailed instructions about what to do and how to do it. God doesn’t’ give us that. No, Instead, He walks with us, guiding us Himself. He makes our journey possible only when we walk with Him. And that is a very good thing!
Psalm 37:23
The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
Proverbs 20:24
A man's steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?
Jeremiah 10:23
I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
*Activation
Today, look around you. Where is God working? Like Jesus, we need to decide to do what God is doing. See John 5:19
Look to see what the Father is doing. Join Him. Do that. This is God’s will for your life!