God's ''will'' and ''plan'' doesn't exist.

[Harlan Norris]

In my life before I came to Christ. I believed that I was not subject to any authority but my own. Nor did I believe that my life was guided by any divine being. Now as I look back, I can pick out incidents that almost certainly predestined. My wife,Parents, children,step child.and what I did for a living. All these things came together to cause me to find the truth. But the things I did that would not have been approved of by God. Those things were "what I did". I can still choose to obey or disobey God. Since I now believe. I make a conscious decision to be obedient as much as I am able.

 

[windjewel]

Does God have a plan for us? Yes he does. One needs to understand God before one can accept his way of life. We know the world is round and a few billion people live on that planet called earth. What we don’t know is God and his kingdom. That is of course, if one walks in the spirit then one can comprehends his so called plan. Ever take a trip and map out the directions on a road map. If you followed the directions to a tee then you would be at your designation at the time you planned. You cannot see the future of the end but you know its there, but if you take a detour time is spent and you may not be able to take the same path you intended to take. God lives in heaven in a place that time, space, etc. is in a set formula or plan. His plan is mapped out in the bible (not the black and white or the words) but the meaning of the words. The word is spirit and is living and God knows that true believers and followers will seek him out as well as his plan.

 

[repentandbelieve]

well right now i think i've affirmed that i'm just a guy that doubts everything in life. i doubt God and he's as solid as anything...so doubting this and having concern to ask God about it is just normal for me i guess.

now i just gotta do my homework He's given me

Nowhere in Scripture does God promise to remove all occasion for doubt. Doubt is something we all struggle with. Who among us does not need more faith in God. Greater and stronger faith in God is something we all need to cultivate.

Rather than focusing on our doubts, let's focus on those things that will fortify our faith.

 

[MormonFriend]

hey, i'm new here, and i'm going through some pretty intense times.

Christians often have a mindset that God knows the future, I don't limit God's power, but I do pay close attention to our free will in conjunction to it. I mean, if God does know the future he could tell me something i will do, right? But don't i always have the free will to go directly against that? Or commit suicide right after he tells me the answer?

So is our culture right in saying there is a set plan for us that we need to go crazy about wondering if we are choosing the right thing? We feel like we are in a gigantic maze full of turns, and if we don't make the right ones, then we're screwed when it comes to the end. Many of these turns are moral rights and wrongs, and those are very clearly defined to what we should make. Ah! but there are many many other decisions in our lives too...where to go to college, who am i going to marry, what city should i go to for my job, what should be my job...etc. I DO believe God has predestined our talents and gifts, to which he has a plan that we should sharpen those things and use them to the fullest for him. So that if our motive is totally pure, and we pray over these things for him to open doors to spread the love he has filled in us to where ever we choose to go we won't be doing "the wrong thing".

I mean, if we believe that some decision is going to be deeply benificial to our life, how can God say that we shouldn't do that? Is not the deciding factor our motive that we feel in us? Can I choose wrong out of the hope to grow in Christ and build my relationship with Him so I can reflect it to the world?
.....

What is free will worth, if we were created ex-nihilo? If we were created from nothing, then everything we are is the result of what God created us to be, including the differences of how each individual uses the free will (that God gave us) differently.

If we were not created ex-nihilo, then your questions may take on greater meaning.