Holy Plans

Holy Plans

This is what God said:  ⁵ “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you.”  Jeremiah 1:4-5 (Message)

 Anyone who know the Becks even a little probably knows at least this one thing about Pat and I – we love, love, love, love, love kids!! God has blessed us to be the proud parents of 5 adopted daughters. Each one of our girls was rescued by God out of circumstances that only God Himself could save them from. When I roam the house at night after they are in bed I pray for them. I pray for their futures. I pray for their destinies. I understand that inside those little bodies is something so much bigger than what the natural eye can see. It’s the same principle that caused God to put beginnings of a mighty oak tree inside a tiny acorn. Often great things are hidden inside small packages.

 When God wants to make a change in the world, he plants a destiny inside of a child and sends that child into the earth to become the destiny he or she is carrying inside.  What would our world be like without the great destinies that have affected each of our lives in deeply personal ways? There are too many professions and accomplishments to list them all, but to name just a few -- I am thankful for the doctors, teachers, parents, scientists, rescue workers, missionaries, military men and women, social workers, activists, preachers, lawyers and so many others who have found cures, sparked imaginations, taught godly values, defended freedom, taken the Gospel to the nations and so much more to make the world my children live in a better place.

The Scripture is clear that what God wants to do in the earth, He must do through a man or woman because that is the order He has set. The Garden of Eden was not run by angels or even by God Himself; it was run by Adam and Eve. God gave them such authority that the decisions they made affected the entire human race. Although most people don’t realize it that truth has not changed. The decisions I make today have the potential to affect a generation of people.  Why? How?

I think Jeremiah 1 says it best. God told Jeremiah that before He formed Jeremiah in the womb, He had already decided on Jeremiah’s destiny and assignment in the earth. The Message Bible says that God had “holy plans” for Jeremiah. The very thought of that sends a spine-tingling chill through me! I have a God-given destiny. You have a God-given destiny. Our children have a God-given destiny. Every person who comes into the world is assigned a God-given, God-inspired destiny to make the world we live in a better place.

I woke up this morning thinking about a sensitive topic in the United States right now, and I’m sure in other parts of the world as well. That topic is abortion. It’s a word that amazingly sparks controversy and heated words even in Christian circles. Is it possible we have simply lost our perspective on this issue as Christians? Although the taking of an innocent life is enough to make this something God hates, it is more that a body that the world loses when abortion takes place. Abortion is not only the loss of lives; it is the loss of destinies.

 Take a moment and consider this. When God wanted to send redemption to earth, He didn’t send a King – He sent a baby. And inside that baby was the destiny to be the King of kings. Think about that. God wrapped His incredible plan to save mankind in the body of a little baby boy. Mary’s reputation was certainly soiled by accepting God’s plan, but she didn’t let that get in the way of accepting the responsibility to nurture the destiny God had put in her care. The person most upset by the coming of Jesus was King Herod. When the wise men told him that a child destined to be King was going to be born, he went into a panic and became determined to destroy the child and his destiny. When God redirected the wise men so that they would not take the information back to Herod he had asked for so that he could harm Jesus, Herod became angry. He ordered the slaughter of all of the children in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas under 2 years old – all in an attempt to destroy one destiny. Gratefully, Jesus had been entrusted to parents willing to protect Him and His destiny at any cost, even at the risk of losing their own lives.

 Have you ever walked for a cure, or maybe been asked to buy a little hand or footprint to support an organization to help sick children? Many of us have. We pray for answers every day to problems in the world and in our own lives. Yet over 50 million destinies have been aborted in the United States alone since 1973. I agree with walking for a cure; I buy the little footprints to make a difference – but what if the destiny that came to earth to find that cure has been destroyed? How many doctors, teachers, parents, scientists, rescue workers, missionaries, military men and women, social workers, activists, preachers, lawyers has the world lost in the last almost 40 years?

We are clearly commanded in scripture not to conform to the culture of this world (Romans 12:1). Opinions don’t matter in light of truth. If we truly believe that Jesus came to bring life and life more abundantly, let’s set aside the pressures and opinions of the present culture and stick to truth. Let’s be a light to the women around us in hope that God will use us to inspire them to be a Mary or a Joseph to the destinies God has or will entrust to their care.

Remember friend, God loves you so very much and Jesus is Lord!