God has a plan for you!

God Has a Plan For You!
September 11th, 2008 • Category: Gospel of Luke
by Robert Ferguson
Today’s scripture: Luke 21: 5-33 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)

As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.

My thoughts (Robert Ferguson):

It’s so easy to forget that God has a plan for us.

I recently lost my father. During his final days, I learned of a brother I never really knew existed. Actually, I’d heard rumors about him as a child but no one ever confirmed to me that he was my fathers’ son. We had never met. So I summoned all of the courage I had and asked my father about this brother and he confessed what I had suspected. I have a brother, five years younger than I am, and his name is Christopher. Unfortunately, my father closed his eyes for the last time before he could introduce the two of us.

As God would have it, there was a woman present at my father’s funeral who I remembered from my childhood. I asked her if she could help me find my brother, and she was more than happy to do just that.

Some weeks later I received a phone call from someone who sounded oddly just like me, and he introduced himself as my little brother. I met him for the first time the following day. Since then we have spent every available moment together trying to reconstruct our separate childhoods and catch up on 37 years of not living more than 20 miles from one another but never knowing each other.

Just prior to this season in my life I had been struggling with God over a particular issue. A close relative called me one day and told she had started the process of building her own home. Although I was overjoyed for her, I wouldn’t be honest if I said that I wasn’t envious. I asked God, “When is it going to be my turn?” You see, for over a year I have been working toward owning my own home. At every turn there seems to be obstacles and hurdles.

As I read the scripture for today’s devotion I hear Jesus saying, “There is another plan for you.”

The disciples were marveling at the beautiful temple. It had taken decades to construct and was adorned with gold and jewels from all over the world. Jesus was less than impressed with the structure. He knew that eventually this display of fine craftsmanship, though dedicated to God, would be nothing more than a pile of rubble.

God had a plan for Jerusalem and God has a plan for all of us. Jesus’ prophetic message for Jerusalem was that there would be war, destruction, and difficult times ahead for all. However, in the end, the Kingdom of God will be ushered in by the return of the Christ.

How difficult it must have been for the Jewish ears of the day to hear this prophetic message from the Messiah. The magnificent temple, the center of the nation’s worship and the sacred focus of God’s presence, will be destroyed. Centuries of worship will be brought to an end.

However, for those who believe, confess the name of Jesus, and suffer for his name’s sake, there will be greater blessings and glory than they can imagine. God tells us today that God has a plan and even in the midst of destruction and disappointment, God’s plan is being fulfilled.

In the midst of losing my father God comforted me and kept me in a loving embrace. Was it the most difficult, heart wrenching experience of my life so far? Yes, but God was ever present and all the while a master plan was being worked out. I would not have known how to ask God for the perfect prescription for a breaking heart. But God knows.

All the while I was busy praying for what I thought would make me happy, God was saying, I have something better for you. All the while I wanted my blessing to be exactly what God had crafted for my cousin, a new home, but God had something better for me.

When I met my brother I learned that he has three sons, ages 14, 10, and 5. Suddenly I have gone from being an only child to having a brother. Suddenly I have three nephews who are excited about their new uncle. Do I still want a new home? Oh you bet! However, today I understand that all things happen in God’s time. Rest assured, God’s plan is being fulfilled.

Thought for the day: Today I understand that all things happen in God’s time. Rest assured, God’s plan is being fulfilled.



We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.


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