Does God really have a wonderful plan for my life?

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I was talking to a teenage girl at my church on Sunday who posed this question to me. For her, though, the answer wasn’t as simple as “of course.”

This particular young woman has severe physical disabilities that significantly affect her speech and movement. The conversation that prompted her to ask if God really had a plan for her started because she recently realized that she can’t get any of the typical “teenager” jobs like fast food or babysitting. This left her wondering if she would ever be able to be viewed as what she called “normal.”

Of course, I encouraged her that God has created her with a particular set of gifts and has a plan for her, even if that plan might involve feeling like she is stuck in exile for a while (Jeremiah 29). She mostly just needed a listening ear and a hug and prayer, but it left me wondering:

Have you ever been asked this? Or have you wondered it yourself?

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Hi @Michaela, Thank you for bringing this up. I think it’s something a lot of us think about even if we don’t always say it out loud.

As a mom of teens, I really admire this young lady’s desire to be independent and her initiative to look for a job. That says a lot about her strengths. I hope she doesn’t take this experience as a closed door, but as an open door to another path.

I can relate to the heart behind her question because I’ve asked similar things myself. I remember in college going through a Campus Crusade for Christ booklet that started with, “Did you know God has a wonderful plan for your life?” I didn’t quite understand what it meant. I think I assumed that if I trusted God and tried to be obedient, life would feel stable and make more sense than it sometimes does.

Over time, though, I’ve learnt while following the Bible and choosing wisely may reduce unnecessary hardships, we can still suffer in this fallen world. Even in the Bible, we see faithful people who didn’t experience everything they were hoping for (Heb 11:39). I have had to learn and still learning that real faith is about dependence on God for who He is, no matter our circumstances. Sometimes we may need the help of a godly friend or a community to persevere in our faith and that is okay.

Another thing that’s helped me is slowly redefining what “success” means. It’s easy to measure it in terms of independence, status or achievements. But I’m learning that success in God’s kingdom might look more like responding faithfully with what I have been given, even when it doesn’t match what I expect.

I come back to stories like the parable of the talents or the workers in the vineyard, where people are given different things at different times, but what matters is what they do with it. It has been a comforting reminder for me that each of us have a unique journey of faith, and that God understands our limitations. We can cast all our anxieties on Him because He cares for us.

I also think that our limitations have a way of making us grow spiritually. Attributes like compassion, patience, and humility don’t always come naturally, but they grow through hard experiences as we turn to God. While such success is not always noticed or celebrated, God always notices it.

I really hope and pray your friend keeps her faith in Christ strong and doesn’t lose heart.

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Thank you for your hard won wisdom @lakshmi. Walking with you as you stay faithful despite hardships encourages me and you have given me great things to share with my young friend as well.

Often success doesn’t look like what I expect, even in my own personal sanctification. It does help to remember that what God cares about is what I do with what I have and who I am right now rather than what I wish my situation was.

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Thanks @Michaela for your comments and thoughts on the sanctification process. So true!

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