We know that God very definitely has a plan. It is an astonishing thing to know this, that there is a plan set in motion for each of us. His plan for our individual lives is a part of His plan for the entire universe. Many people believe that God is up in heaven making things up as time goes along, but this isn’t how He does things. He said of Himself in Revelation 1:8(NLT), “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” Our Heavenly Father knows all things, and He is all-powerful. Nothing ever slips by Him. He knows every detail of the end at the very beginning, and He knows the beginning at the very end. When God puts a plan in motion, it is not altered. It will proceed just as He intends.
The unchanging, unrelenting, and perfect quality of God’s nature should always be in our minds and hearts. We need to know that this is who God is. He is a God of order, and He does not need to make changes to His plan. The Bible tells us that even before Adam and Eve sinned against Him, Heavenly Father already had a plan of redemption in place. Before He laid the foundation of the world, He already knew that humans would sin, and that we would desperately need His help. He prepared the plan of salvation as a way for us to be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ, and He did this long before we existed in the flesh. 1Peter 1:19-20(NLT), says, “19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days.”
God knew He was going to have to send His Son to redeem us. There was nothing that any person or living thing could do to alter the plan of the Father. When we walk in His Will for our lives, we are walking according to His Word, the Bible. The subject of His Word from beginning to end is His Son, Jesus Christ. So, walking in God’s Word means that we walk according to the example of Jesus Christ. This is the very best way to live life. It is the way to have the more than abundant life that Jesus Christ talked about in John 10:10. He came to show us the way to the Father, so that we could have the blessed existence that God wanted us to have from the beginning. God’s Word is the roadmap to His plan for our lives, and if we stick to God’s agenda, we will witness His rewards.
It is important for us to realize that the world has an agenda too, and it is completely opposite from God’s agenda. 2Corinthians 4:4 tells us that satan is the god of this world, and most of the systems and institutions are influenced by his evil. Through the world systems, the devil enslaves people, but Jesus Christ has rescued us from the devil’s darkness. Colossians 1:13-14(NLT) tells us, “For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” Heavenly Father has rescued us from the slavery of darkness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His perfect blood paid the ransom for us all. Because of what Jesus has done for us, we can be in the world but not of it. The way that we accomplish this is to stick to God’s agenda, to do what He has told us to do in His Word.
Proverbs 19:21 (NLT) tells us, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” Our Heavenly Father’s Will cannot be stopped, but the enemy tries to hinder it because he knows that he has been defeated. Jesus Christ tells us in John 8:44 that the devil is the father of lies. He said the devil was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. As followers of Christ and children of the Most High God, we are overcomers and more than conquerors. Through the wisdom of God’s Word, we don’t have to be victims to the enemy’s tricks and plots of darkness. 1John 4:4(NIV) declares, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
We must seek out the plan of the Father, for it is the best for us, and this is what God wants, He wants the best for His children. It is a trick of evil to bombard us with wrong information, temptations, and problems so that we will be so overwhelmed and discouraged that we forget God’s agenda or remain blind to it. Then we become even more enslaved by darkness. We start to think sinful thoughts, speak discouraging words, and make poor choices. These things take us away from having faith in God, and that is exactly what the devil wants. Our eyes must be open to the truth. While we are here on this earth, God wants to train us for even greater blessings. He has so much in store for us, and we need to stop focusing on the world’s agenda and focus on God. We are joint heirs of Christ, and we have a glorious inheritance that God wants to give us.
Through God’s plan, He welcomed everyone into His family with outstretched arms. The outpouring of His grace was always a part of it. This is what the Apostle Paul is teaching us about in Ephesians 3:6(NLT), where it says, “And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.” Everyone who accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior is the true children of the Father. We should celebrate this every day of our lives.
Through Jesus Christ, God has given us a seat at the table. We are joint-heirs with Christ, and if the devil had known what Christ would accomplish on the cross for us, 1Corinthians 2:8 tells us that he would never have crucified Christ. We must not allow our blessings and standing in Christ to be stolen from underneath us. God wants us to tell others about the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, that He saved us through His Son, and we have the gift of eternal life. We are here to share the light of Christ and this is God’s agenda. 1Peter 3:15(NLT) tells us, “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” This is our great privilege and honor, to share His love with others so they will know the truth about Jesus Christ. As we do this, we will see God’s plan unfold in our lives in a powerful way.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Stick To God’s Agenda”, written by JMack, 4theChristianMan.com© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.