Not Yet Week 3

Big Idea: God’s plans for you are good.

When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grow up?

What do you want to be now?

What changed that?

Why did they change?

When it comes to planning our futures, some of us are more into planning than others. How much of a planner are you?

No matter how much of a planner you are, or aren’t, the future can be unpredictable.

We make plans all the time that don’t work out, but when our biggest plans change or feel uncertain, it’s a big deal! That’s especially true when you aren’t only wondering about your plans for your future, but also asking, “What is God’s plan for my future?”

Figuring out what we want for our futures can be scary all by itself, but once you add in the question of what God wants, the pressure only increases. Does God actually have a plan for our futures? If so...

Do you have a say in those plans?

How do we find out what those plans are?

What if God’s plan’s don’t sound very fun or don’t match the plans we were making?

There are probably plenty of times God looks at our plans we make for our lives and wonders, “Uh, what are you thinking?”

In the same way, there are plenty of times we probably look to God and wonder the exact same thing.

If you've ever wondered about God's plan for your life, you're not alone. All throughout the Scripture, we find the stories of people who were trying to understand, trust, and follow God's plans for them.

Sometimes the Bible tells us the stories of people who put their trust in God's plans and experienced something incredible as a result.

Sometimes it tells us the stories of people who struggled to understand or trust the plans God had for them.

And sometimes, like we see in this passage from the book of Psalms, the Bible gives us a look into the prayers of someone who is reflecting on God's plans for their lives.

Read Psalm 40:1-5

I waited patiently for the Lord, and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.

He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and they will trust in the Lord.

How happy is anyone who has put his trust in the Lord and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies!

Lord my God, you have done many things—your wondrous works and your plans for us; none can compare with you. If I were to report and speak of them, they are more than can be told.

We don't know what situation inspired the author, King David, to write this song, but here's what he observed as a result of what he was experiencing:

Even when life is difficult or confusing, God can be trusted.

If we look backward to the past, we can see God has already done so many good things on our behalf.

If we look forward to the future, we can trust God has so many good things planned.

This psalm doesn't say what God's plans are exactly. But that's okay! By remembering the ways God was good to him and his people in the past, David knew they could continue trusting God together in the future — even if he wasn't sure what their future looked like exactly.

Now let’s fast forward to another passage of Scripture. In Matthew 16, we will find some poepkle struggling to understand and trust God’s plans. Let’s look at a conversation between Jesus and Peter.

Read Matthew 16:13-23

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus responded, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven.

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”

Then he gave the disciples orders to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

From then on Jesus began to point out to his disciples that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and be raised the third day.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and told Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

Where God's plans are concerned, two interesting things happen in this passage.

First, Jesus gives Peter the inside scoop about God's plans for Peter's future. Jesus promises he will use Peter to build and grow the Church! The Bible doesn't tell us how Peter responded, but it's probably safe to assume he was pretty excited about that news.

But then, a short time later, Jesus gave his disciples another look into God's plans for the future . . . and these plans definitely didn't sound as good as the first set of plans.

Peter simply couldn't accept that Jesus would die. In Peter's mind, Jesus' death would completely mess up Peter's plans for his future. Plus, it seemed like Jesus was going back on his word! How could Jesus use Peter to build his church if Jesus was dead?

In Peter's mind, the plans Jesus had for his future were terrible. They didn't make sense. They didn't sound fun. They didn't sound like something God would do. And they certainly didn't sound good.

But Jesus, of course, knew some things Peter didn't know. Jesus knew his death actually was good news. Yes, his death would be painful and frightening — but it would then be followed by his resurrection, our salvation and new relationship with God, and the creation of the Church!

Peter may have thought the news of Jesus' death was interfering with God's plans for him. But in reality, Jesus' death was an essential step in God's plans — not only for Peter, but for the whole world too.

We can't really blame Peter though, can we? It's only natural to be fearful when the future seems scary. But I imagine Peter might have reacted differently if he remembered the words we read a few moments ago from the Psalms. If he had, he might have recognized . . .

Even when life was difficult or confusing, Jesus could still be trusted.

In the past, Jesus had already done so many good things on Peter's behalf.

And in the future, he could trust Jesus had good things planned.

And what was true for David the psalmist and Peter the disciple is true for us too. The same God who could be trusted with their future can be trusted with our futures too.

Even when God's plans don't seem like they make sense, they are full of hope and promise for us. You're probably not going to be able to open the Bible and find a message from God telling you which job to take or school to attend. But here's what Scripture does tell us about God's plans for us: even when you don't know the specifics, you can always trust God’s plans for you are good.

The most challenging times to trust God’s plans for you are good will be when...

Things go badly

You’re struggling to feel hopeful

Your world is falling apart

Your relationships feel complicated

Life feels like it’s changing too quickly

Like Peter discovered, those situations can’t always be avoided. But god can still be trusted, even in the most difficult times. We just have to remember why.

This week, I want to challenge you to take 15 minutes every day to spend some time with Jesus. When you do, remember what David wrote in Psalm 40 and think about these three questions:

What am I wondering, hoping, or fearing about my future?

How has God been good to me in the past?

Why do I trust God with my future?

Read Romans 8:28

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.