Does God have a plan for each of us?

[Pastor_Benjamin]

Each and every person was created by God for a particular purpose. What is your purspose you say? You must pray and ask God what is his purpose for your particular life.

 

[Philosoft]

Each and every person was created by God for a particular purpose. What is your purspose you say? You must pray and ask God what is his purpose for your particular life.

What is the purpose of, for example, a 9-year-old orphan who dies in a building collapse during an earthquake in Pakistan? I'll take anything even remotely plausible at this point.

 

[TheOriginalWhitehorse]

The suffering in this world isn't easy. I understand what you're saying; I know it hurts. But this is where sin leads: to a world of suffering and pain. The only thing we can do is to look at it from God's point of view. It's hard to deal with; I know. The bottom line is, Adam & Eve shouldn't have sinned against God. Look at all the chaos that followed, for the simple "pleasure" of taking a bite of a stupid piece of fruit that didn't stay in their mouths for more than 30 seconds. And, we all sin, too. It's really made a mess of things.

But, we do have a promise of restoration. Very sweet. Everything will be restored for the Lord's people, and He paid the price so the suffering wouldn't be forever. So, if we're in that condition of being saved by grace, and if even death is temporary, that's a good position to be in.

 

[casper40]

Just a quick reply; Jesus said, "there will be poor always, pathetically suffering".
No one knows Gods' reasoning behind everything. The fact is that there will always be evil and bad things until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We must keep faith in the good times and especially in the bad times. God Bless And Peace Be With You, Linda

 

[vajradhara]

Namaste all,


in regards to the OP... yes, i believe that everything, in so much as we can obeserve "everything" has a reason for being in existence, i.e. arising based on causes and conditions.

does this imply a purpose to the phenomena? no, i do not believe that it does. what is the purpose of a bit of rock in the Kupier Belt? i would say "none" though it most certainly has a cause.

 

[billwald]

"then why do we have no control over the circumstnces of our birth, the events of our lives, and the outcome of our situation?

This is mostly an excuse used by people who are dissatisfied with their situation but not sufficiently dissatisfied to do anything about it. Me, I have no complaints. I got what I was willing to work for.

 

[Philosoft]

The suffering in this world isn't easy. I understand what you're saying; I know it hurts. But this is where sin leads: to a world of suffering and pain. The only thing we can do is to look at it from God's point of view. It's hard to deal with; I know. The bottom line is, Adam & Eve shouldn't have sinned against God. Look at all the chaos that followed, for the simple "pleasure" of taking a bite of a stupid piece of fruit that didn't stay in their mouths for more than 30 seconds. And, we all sin, too. It's really made a mess of things.

I'm not asking these questions because I'm emotionally troubled by their implications. I'm asking because I'm still looking for coherent answers. I would like to take people at their word, so when someone tells me there's a purpose for something, I naturally ask what that purpose is. Advising me to have faith that some purpose exists is pointless. I simply don't operate that way. I think if people know things, they should be able to give a reasonable account of how they come to know them. Faith, in this sense, is merely a stand-in for knowledge, a place-holder.

But, we do have a promise of restoration. Very sweet. Everything will be restored for the Lord's people, and He paid the price so the suffering wouldn't be forever. So, if we're in that condition of being saved by grace, and if even death is temporary, that's a good position to be in.

I'm sure it is. But all this is succedent to my believing in God in the first place. Until I can do that, religious platitudes are worthless.

 

[Chilldogg77]

What is the purpose of, for example, a 9-year-old orphan who dies in a building collapse during an earthquake in Pakistan? I'll take anything even remotely plausible at this point.

Perhaps the reason is that it was time for him to go home to God, who loves him. Is that remotely plausible?

Regarding the original post. I believe God has a plan for each of us, and everything that happens God either wills or allows. It seems obvious in some lives. Let's look at St. Joseph. It seems apparent that God had a plan for him, to help raise Jesus. Joseph made the choice to marry Mary, and could have dismissed his dream and refused to do so. He chose instead to comply with God's plan. Now why would God have a plan for some lives and not for others? Only a few are that important? I think that only a few people are called to great, important things, while the majority are called to the highest levels of holiness in the context of a regular job and family. That does not diminish the plan, however. I believe that in God's original plan there was no suffering, no sin, and no death. But his plan was so perfect that it holds true now, and factors in our death and our defects. God can take a horrible or evil event and bring good out of it. I saw a video one time featuring a woman whose biological father raped her biological mother. She was adopted, and went on to lead a beautiful life, touching many people. This is one of millions of examples. People think that because there is suffering, there can't be a plan. Suffering is part of the human condition. It is hard, but it is not always bad. We can offer up our suffering as a sacrifice to God, and he can use it to do wonderful things. God wants us to assist in bringing his plan to fruition. It is a wonderful privelige. Suffering can make us stronger, can give us wisdom, can make us happier in the long run. Just because the plan is hard to see doesn't mean it isn't there. I believe that each one of us has a special role in God's great plan for his creation. It's like a movie with a bunch of stories that are connected, even though the characters themselves might not know they're connected. Everyone has their freedom to choose their actions, but things just work out in a certain way. Now in those situations you either believe in coincidences, or you believe in God. I believe in God, and I believe in a plan.

 

[Philosoft]

Perhaps the reason is that it was time for him to go home to God, who loves him. Is that remotely plausible?

That's a reason for that child to die, not an explanation of the purpose of the child's manner of life and death.

 

[onionring]

...
I'm sure it is. But all this is succedent to my believing in God in the first place. Until I can do that, religious platitudes are worthless.

It’s kind of like trying to understand Electromagnetic without first believing in gravity?

Of course, in order to prove a physical law like gravity you don't research spirituality? No…you research science. So someone could logically conclude, in order to research spirituality (of which, God could be considered part...or whole...I don't want to make the Christians mad), physical proof of a spiritual object is illogical.

In this way, I conclude you are destined to be confused and unyielding to "religious platitudes" in much the same way those that struggled with the realities of gravity (not implying God is real).

It's your hang up not theirs.

*Someone as to stick up for the little guy*

 

[onionring]

That's a reason for that child to die, not an explanation of the purpose of the child's manner of life and death.

How is it plausible that you would expect someone human to explain to you a third-person's purpose in life and death, when only on a rare occasion do we as individuals know our own (purpose)? And especially in a hypothetically situation that only you control the details of.

Very unrealistic…But let me take a shot. My guess is that the boy served a purpose of such small significance to man, that society as a whole could care less, or even acknowledge it as ”significance”. Yet, Christians can argue that to God…it may have been important.

That’s the problem you face when you acknowledge (or imply) that human purpose resides in the will of God.

 

[secretdawn]

I think he has an ideal plan for everyone, but because of free will we choose whether or not we are going to fullfill that plan

 

[Philosoft]

It’s kind of like trying to understand Electromagnetic without first believing in gravity?

Of course, in order to prove a physical law like gravity you don't research spirituality? No…you research science. So someone could logically conclude, in order to research spirituality (of which, God could be considered part...or whole...I don't want to make the Christians mad), physical proof of a spiritual object is illogical.

In this way, I conclude you are destined to be confused and unyielding to "religious platitudes" in much the same way those that struggled with the realities of gravity (not implying God is real).

It's your hang up not theirs.

Eh? First you tell me science and spirituality are separate entities, then you tell me I won't understand God until I create a parallel to gravity?

 

[onionring]

Eh? First you tell me science and spirituality are separate entities, then you tell me I won't understand God until I create a parallel to gravity?

Sorry, I can't hold your (mental) hand and do all the thinking for you. If you can't understand this simple analogy, and you get confused by with comparitive reasoning...I'm not sure how else to explain it to you.

Good luck in your future logic thought processes. yni.

 

[onionring]

Perhaps the correct wording (for OP) is "purpose" and not "plan".

 

[Emmy]

I do believe that God has a plan for each of us and all things work for the good of him who really believes this. Many people do not believe this and therefore will never know what God`s plan for them is. For those who want to walk in God`s way, (and I am certainly trying to) it is true what White horse writes,we will always find that GOD`S WAY WAS the best way for us. Living in a very busy and distracting world it is not easy to always know God` will for us. We must get tuned in.then sincerely tell th Lord our problem and pray/talk to our Father.As Paul tells us in the bible " pray/ask continously and the thank the Lord for His help,or advice or whatever. As I write these lines it all seems so easy,but it really takes practice and a sincere heart and love and loyalty to Our Father. Greetings from Your sister in Christ Emmy.

 

[DanteMason]

God created me for his own amusement. I am God's cheesy Thursday night sitcom. I am the divine "Friends." No, wait, "Roseanne."

 

[DavidB]

Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Just some things happen for a reason?

When we allow God to work through our life, every thing that happens is working together for good. You might think it funny, but sometimes you can trace some of the big things in our life back to something completely insignificant, for example a toothache!

In His Eternal Service,
David

 

[MAMiller]

loreocookie: I believe he does. I only say this because of experience. I can remember hard times in my life and all the things that I pleaded with God about. Now it seems things have evolved just as I had always desired, that something inside me yearned for the future. Even as a child I could always feel there was something that I was waiting for. I think the pain was in wanting what I didn't have yet, impatience or it could just be I wanted more. I feel there is a plan for me and that the whole point in me being here has nothing to do with me at all. The point is my son. My purpose was regardless of my mistakes, can I then take all that I had learned and effectively make my son a better person. I think I am doing good so far, but it certainly isn't a flawless task. It's hard to think about having a purpose outside that, sometimes I get exhausted just thinking of it. I don't think that answer your post very well. I probably just confuse the whole discussion more. I do believe I have a purpose, I am just not sure if I am brave or insightful enough to see and accomplish it.

Humanity is such a beautiful, yet complex and confusing thing for me. I must admit, I struggle ...

 

[Philosoft]

When we allow God to work through our life, every thing that happens is working together for good. You might think it funny, but sometimes you can trace some of the big things in our life back to something completely insignificant, for example a toothache!

The perhaps unfortunate corollary entailed by this premise is that we forfeit the ability to determine which non-good acts ought to be prevented. If we assume there was some good state-of-affairs that followed from the Holocaust, then we end up in the seemingly contrary position of actually defending the existence of the Holocaust, lest whatever good never have come about.