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Does God have a Plan for our lives?

Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
I thought to post this after listening to the Christian radio station this morning and hearing a testimonial. I used to think it was silly that God would have a Plan for people’s lives and I disagreed with Christians who say that because I do not believe that God is controlling our lives. Rather, I believe humans have their own will to act on their own behalf. However, I now realize that does not preclude God having a Plan for our lives in the sense that whatever happens was predestined. I believe that human free will and predestination can coexist but I cannot say exactly how that works because I don’t think anyone can know that.

My life is up in the air and I have many things in my life to resolve. I have anxiety so I am anxious that these things are not resolved and I don’t know if or when they will ever be resolved. However, today I am choosing to trust that whatever happens is God’s Will and that it will be in my best interest. I trust God because I see that things get resolved in spite of my not trying to control things like I used to do, which never worked out.

I feel like Job given all the suffering I have endured for more years than I care to say, but right now, other than an upcoming dental appointment, I don’t have anything that is really worrisome. Although there are many things that I will need to resolve eventually, I trust that God will help me figure out what to.

If I think back to what was happening one year ago this month, even two years ago or three years ago, I cringe and I wonder how I got through all of that. Now I know I was not alone, that God was there with me all along. It is always easier for me to realize that in retrospect. I thank Christians and their testimonials for reminding me of God’s presence and goodness, because I tend to lose my faith that God is good, as some of my fellow Baha’is know only too well.

I think there was a reason I suddenly decided to turn on that radio station this morning, after I had decided I did not want to listen to Christian music anymore.

Sincerely, Trailblazer. :)
 
Nakosis

Nakosis

Non-Binary Physicalist
Premium Member
Trailblazer said:
I thought to post this after listening to the Christian radio station this morning and hearing a testimonial. I used to think it was silly that God would have a Plan for people’s lives and I disagreed with Christians who say that because I do not believe that God is controlling our lives. Rather, I believe humans have their own will to act on their own behalf. However, I now realize that does not preclude God having a Plan for our lives in the sense that whatever happens was predestined. I believe that human free will and predestination can coexist but I cannot say exactly how that works because I don’t think anyone can know that.

My life is up in the air and I have many things in my life to resolve. I have anxiety so I am anxious that these things are not resolved and I don’t know if or when they will ever be resolved. However, today I am choosing to trust that whatever happens is God’s Will and that it will be in my best interest. I trust God because I see that things get resolved in spite of my not trying to control things like I used to do, which never worked out.

I feel like Job given all the suffering I have endured for more years than I care to say, but right now, other than an upcoming dental appointment, I don’t have anything that is really worrisome. Although there are many things that I will need to resolve eventually, I trust that God will help me figure out what to.

If I think back to what was happening one year ago this month, even two years ago or three years ago, I cringe and I wonder how I got through all of that. Now I know I was not alone, that God was there with me all along. It is always easier for me to realize that in retrospect. I thank Christians and their testimonials for reminding me of God’s presence and goodness, because I tend to lose my faith that God is good, as some of my fellow Baha’is know only too well.

I think there was a reason I suddenly decided to turn on that radio station this morning, after I had decided I did not want to listen to Christian music anymore.

Sincerely, Trailblazer. :)
Click to expand...

I used to feel that way, that God has a plan. It was kind of helpful to me at the time since I had no idea what to do with my life. There seemed no real future, I thought about suicide. When I gave my life to God, I no longer had to worry about the future. I felt a big burden I had been carrying around lifted. Trust God and it all worked. I felt inspired to go into a shop or park and something neat would happen. I'd usually find people or books that seemed to direct me forward in my search for the truth. I went out into the world without a plan and stuff would just happen. It was comfortable to go out into the world without fear.

Now I don't really know that God has a plan for me but I no longer have a fear of the future. I sometimes think it maybe naïve but too late. :shrug:
 
The Hammer

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
I think it's a mix. As you stated.

I think some things (major points) are written into the web of Wyrd by the Gods/Norns, but other things including how we react to those major points is entirely within our control.
 
sun rise

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
I don't know how to reconcile the paradox, but what works for me is the belief that God has a plan and it's our choice whether to carry it out or not.
 
L

Lain

Well-Known Member
Trailblazer said:
I thought to post this after listening to the Christian radio station this morning and hearing a testimonial. I used to think it was silly that God would have a Plan for people’s lives and I disagreed with Christians who say that because I do not believe that God is controlling our lives. Rather, I believe humans have their own will to act on their own behalf. However, I now realize that does not preclude God having a Plan for our lives in the sense that whatever happens was predestined. I believe that human free will and predestination can coexist but I cannot say exactly how that works because I don’t think anyone can know that.
Click to expand...

While Providence is meticulous and contains all things I really think ultimately God's plan for us is simply to be us and be holy. Everything else in our lives is just a means to that end. I think this because ultimately being the individual existence we are is the only unique thing about us or that we can do. Our vocation is to be ourselves with Him.
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Nakosis said:
I used to feel that way, that God has a plan. It was kind of helpful to me at the time since I had no idea what to do with my life. There seemed no real future, I thought about suicide. When I gave my life to God, I no longer had to worry about the future. I felt a big burden I had been carrying around lifted. Trust God and it all worked. I felt inspired to go into a shop or park and something neat would happen. I'd usually find people or books that seemed to direct me forward in my search for the truth. I went out into the world without a plan and stuff would just happen. It was comfortable to go out into the world without fear.

Now I don't really know that God has a plan for me but I no longer have a fear of the future. I sometimes think it maybe naïve but too late. :shrug:
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing. :)

I never felt that God had a Plan for me in the past, even though I have been a Baha'i for 51 years. I was always self-directed and self-motivated and I was going to DO whatever I decided to DO. Well, some of that got done, since I completed all the degree programs I set out to complete, but when it came to changing careers that did not work out as I had planned. But since I was not thinking much about God back then, I did not think the reason the plan did not work out was because of God, but rather I realized that certain life circumstances prevented me for pursuing a different career.

I am still very self-directed and self-motivated so it is not as if I am sitting around waiting for direction from God, but rather it is that I feel that I get guided by God... Of course this is not something I can ever prove, it is just an intuitive feeling.

So what I do now is act on my own free will but in my mind I am willing to accept God's Will, whatever it might be. So far what I was willing to accept has not has been congruent what I wanted to do so maybe it is God's Will that I have done what I have done. For example, I thought I was going to have to retire because of the vaccination mandate but I was able to get an accommodation so I will be able to continue working.

I still have a lot of anxiety but it is not as bad as it used to be because I feel like I am not alone and I feel like I can deal with whatever happens since I have already been through hell and I survived. Maybe it is true that God never tests us beyond our capacity, but He sure does push some of us to the upper limit! :eek:
 
osgart

osgart

Nothing my eye, Something for sure
Hard to imagine that someone who knows infinitely better than humanity wouldn't have a plan for humanity. That would mean God let's all the chips fall where they may without concern.

If God sent Messengers then wouldn't that be because of a plan? That sounds logical to me.

I'm not debating this though since I don't believe in a God anymore. I'm just curious what believers say that plan is. And as an evil non believer lol, what's in store for the rest of us.
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
osgart said:
Hard to imagine that someone who knows infinitely better than humanity wouldn't have a plan for humanity. That would mean God let's all the chips fall where they may without concern.
Click to expand...
Of course God has a Plan for humanity, God has had a Plan for humanity from the very beginning.
(I refer to God's Plan as God's Purpose because God does not have to plan things since God already knows everything that has happened or that ever will happen.)

“God’s purpose is none other than to usher in, in ways He alone can bring about, and the full significance of which He alone can fathom, the Great, the Golden Age of a long-divided, a long-afflicted humanity. Its present state, indeed even its immediate future, is dark, distressingly dark. Its distant future, however, is radiant, gloriously radiant—so radiant that no eye can visualize it............” The Promised Day is Come, p. 116

God’s Purpose
osgart said:
If God sent Messengers then wouldn't that be because of a plan? That sounds logical to me.
Click to expand...
The Messengers certainly are part of God's Plan because they reveal what is necessary for the Plan to unfold. In other words the Messengers tell us what the Plan is and provide the instructions we are to follow in order to carry out the Plan. You see, it is not God who is going to carry out God's Plan, it is humans.
osgart said:
I'm not debating this though since I don't believe in a God anymore. I'm just curious what believers say that plan is. And as an evil non believer lol, what's in store for the rest of us.
Click to expand...
Evil is as evil does. There is nothing evil about nonbelievers unless they commit evil acts. A believer who commits evil acts is in no better shape than a nonbeliever.
 
We Never Know

We Never Know

No Slack
sun rise said:
I don't know how to reconcile the paradox, but what works for me is the belief that God has a plan and it's our choice whether to carry it out or not.
Click to expand...

Supposedly a god already has your whole life planned out. If thats so free won't matter.
However a god may know how your life will turn out by you using your freewill because he already knows the choices you will make.
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
We Never Know said:
If there is a god i could see that because he lets us live our life and make our own choices, even if they are wrong.
In other words we would suffer from our own choices/mistakes.
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I think that we do suffer from our own choices/mistakes, but when we are in tune with what God wants for us we make better choices and less mistakes.
 
Truthseeker

Truthseeker

Non-debating member when I can help myself
sun rise said:
I don't know how to reconcile the paradox, but what works for me is the belief that God has a plan and it's our choice whether to carry it out or not.
Click to expand...
I don't see that as a paradox. In fact it is closer to the truth in my opinion that what @Trailblazer originally said.
 
Truthseeker

Truthseeker

Non-debating member when I can help myself
Trailblazer said:
I believe that human free will and predestination can coexist but I cannot say exactly how that works because I don’t think anyone can know that.
Click to expand...
That doesn't quite accord with my view. What sun rise said makes more sense to me.
Trailblazer said:
However, today I am choosing to trust that whatever happens is God’s Will and that it will be in my best interest. I trust God because I see that things get resolved in spite of my not trying to control things like I used to do, which never worked out.
Click to expand...
That's more like it! No matter what happens, it is in your interest. Baha'u'llah said something like that, but with my poor memory I can't find it. However, as I dimly recall, it may not appear to be good at the time. That has been my experience.
Trailblazer said:
Although there are many things that I will need to resolve eventually, I trust that God will help me figure out what to.
Click to expand...
I agree with that.
Trailblazer said:
If I think back to what was happening one year ago this month, even two years ago or three years ago, I cringe and I wonder how I got through all of that. Now I know I was not alone, that God was there with me all along. It is always easier for me to realize that in retrospect. I thank Christians and their testimonials for reminding me of God’s presence and goodness, because I tend to lose my faith that God is good, as some of my fellow Baha’is know only too well.
Click to expand...
I think He was with you. God is good.
Trailblazer said:
I think there was a reason I suddenly decided to turn on that radio station this morning, after I had decided I did not want to listen to Christian music anymore.
Click to expand...
Yes, we are inspired that way sometimes.
 
Truthseeker

Truthseeker

Non-debating member when I can help myself
Trailblazer said:
I never felt that God had a Plan for me in the past, even though I have been a Baha'i for 51 years. I was always self-directed and self-motivated and I was going to DO whatever I decided to DO. Well, some of that got done, since I completed all the degree programs I set out to complete, but when it came to changing careers that did not work out as I had planned. But since I was not thinking much about God back then, I did not think the reason the plan did not work out was because of God, but rather I realized that certain life circumstances prevented me for pursuing a different career.
Click to expand...
Yes, an apparent plan that did work out was an blessing in disguise.
Trailblazer said:
I am still very self-directed and self-motivated so it is not as if I am sitting around waiting for direction from God, but rather it is that I feel that I get guided by God... Of course this is not something I can ever prove, it is just an intuitive feeling.
Click to expand...
That's quite true we should not be waiting for direction from God, but while we carry our work out God will guide us.

I am reminded of when in the first time in my life I took initiative as the only member of the deepening committee in Beavercreek, Ohio to start a county wide deepening committee. As a result an assistant of the Auxiliary board came all of the way from the Cleveland area. Another apparent intervention by God was that the assistant to the Auxiliary board resigned in the local area. This person, Dolly Haghighi, was the matchmaker that was looking for someone to be the companion to Sara Hengeli. You know the rest of the story. Because I took the initiative I found the companion that has been with me since October 22, 1982.
 
Trailblazer

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Truthseeker9 said:
That doesn't quite accord with my view. What sun rise said makes more sense to me.
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sun rise said: "what works for me is the belief that God has a plan and it's our choice whether to carry it out or not."

Can you explain what you think that means maybe with an example? Do you mean God has a plan and he hopes we will carry it out? How could we EVER know what that plan is, in order to carry it out?
Truthseeker9 said:
That's more like it! No matter what happens, it is in your interest. Baha'u'llah said something like that, but with my poor memory I can't find it. However, as I dimly recall, it may not appear to be good at the time. That has been my experience.
Click to expand...
The only quotes I can think of are these:

“Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul. Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Source of power and wisdom.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 295

Or this one?

“Know thou, O fruit of My Tree, that the decrees of the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted. The one is irrevocable, the other is, as termed by men, impending. To the former all must unreservedly submit, inasmuch as it is fixed and settled. God, however, is able to alter or repeal it. As the harm that must result from such a change will be greater than if the decree had remained unaltered, all, therefore, should willingly acquiesce in what God hath willed and confidently abide by the same.

The decree that is impending, however, is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 133
 
Truthseeker

Truthseeker

Non-debating member when I can help myself
Trailblazer said:
sun rise said: "what works for me is the belief that God has a plan and it's our choice whether to carry it out or not."

Can you explain what you think that means maybe with an example? Do you mean God has a plan and he hopes we will carry it out? How could we EVER know what that plan is, in order to carry it out?
Click to expand...
Later, I am too tired to think any more. Perhaps in retrospect, I wasn't think clearly then either. I'm going to bed. I got up at 8:00 this morning which is earlier that my usual time.
 
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