The Journey: Understanding God's Plan for Your Life

By Lee Young

What is God's plan for your life? We all reach points in our life where we don't know what God wants from us? Do I stay or go? Do I work through or move on? Do I do this or that?

God's ways are higher than ours, but did you know that God has promised to reveal His most wonderful plans for our life. To know His plan, we must understand how God is using each event, each relationship, each struggle and celebration to move us into His best plan for our lives. We all have joys, disappointments, celebrations, and tragedies, but understanding God's purpose in each of these is key to understanding His plan for our life.

Make this insightful teaching part of your library today and start understanding God's Plan for Your Life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490810706

Lee Young

The Journey is an enlightening and honest guide to the Lord’s path for each one of us. New Christian, seasoned follower, or anywhere in between will benefit from the words in these pages. Using biblical principles, Pastor Lee is able to clear the haze that oftentimes blocks our ability to see the light on the path the Lord has given each of us. You will forget you are reading and instead feel as though you are conversing with the Lord. If you can imagine crawling into the Lord’s lap and curling up, hearing His heart beat against your ear, and receiving gentle, love-filled, but firm and true guidance; that’s how you’ll feel when you finish this book. Say a prayer that He will open your heart and your mind. May the Lord bless you in the changes that are sure to come!

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Copyright © 2013 Lee Young.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-1069-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1071-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1070-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013917797

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/08/2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1:   Noble Plans

Tomorrow

The Place I Will Show You

Our Purpose

Still Standing

Even Greater Things

Chapter 2:   Failure

New Mercy

The Bad News About God’s Love

Undoing The Lies

Surviving The Drought

Just Passing Through

The Little Foxes

Chapter 3:   Preparing For Greater Things

Blessings Are Dangerous

Refined

Of Greater Worth Than Gold

Finishing Strong

Go For It

Chapter 4:   Ups And Downs Of The Journey

Change Is Not Enough

Affections

A Call To Remember

A Return To Bethel

A Place Of Revival

The Purpose Of Egypt

Relentless

Holding On

The Point Of Death

Chapter 5:   Blessed Discipline

The Trespass Offering

Blessed Discipline

Mistakes And Sin

Chapter 6:   Learning To Wait

What In The World?

Waiting

Chapter 7:   A Covenant People

How Can I Know?

Preparing The Sacrifices

The Prosperity Of God

The Power Of Giving Back

Protecting The Sacrifices

The Firepot

For Generations

This book is dedicated to my friend, Jason Bullard (1970-2013), who, while fighting for his life, enriched mine.

An old photograph. A baby’s laugh. An old T-shirt hanging in the closet. It’s funny how the insignificant things in life can carry such weight in our hearts. For me, it is the wind rushing through the windows of a brown Cutlass speeding down the streets of Hereford, Texas, with Bon Jovi blaring through the noise of the wind. It’s a smile and the laughter of a good friend as we travel down the road. When I think back on my days of hanging out with Jason, I can’t really recall earthshaking moments the way I can in memories of my wife or my children. But the seemingly insignificant things draw tears from my eyes and create an ache in my heart. It is the small things in our friendship that mean so much to me. I miss my friend.

In my mind, I can still see him laughing, and I always will. Men always retain inside of them the boy they once were, but as life flows on, year after year, adult issues take precedence. Driving too fast, listening to too-loud music, and singing way off-key to Bon Jovi would give way to talks of fear, destiny, and eternity. The run-down Cutlass was replaced by a dignified Land Rover. The jabs, jokes, and zingers never stopped, but they were enclosed by words of God, regret, legacy, and great hope. I think that was the spirit we fostered in one another: great hope. We believed God, and we believed that all things were possible.

We believed in one another to the end. His faith in me and my faith in him interlaced our hearts together more than our escapades in Hereford, Texas, ever could. His faith in me helped me to write this book. I hope my faith in him helped him to keep fighting. I suppose, when so many had accepted the inevitable, he was still looking for a better treatment, and I was still praying for his healing.

And if you think about it, I suppose his quest and my prayers both found their way. He received a treatment that removed all cancer, and he is completely and totally healed. I celebrate his faith in Jesus Christ. I celebrate his place in heaven before our heavenly Father. I celebrate the memories. I celebrate, but my eyes water and my heart hurts. I miss my friend.

Acknowledgements

This book has been a matter of discipline for me. I felt that The Lord was calling me to do it. My insecurities filled me with a fear of failure, and I put it off for a long time. But The Lord kept teaching me and I have understood that my part is simply to obey. We only plant and water, but The Lord gives increase. So I have done my part and fought through these insecurities and fear. To reach this point of overcoming, I have many that God has put into my life to thank.

First, I thank The Lord for calling me and giving me the opportunity to be a part of His plan for others. All wisdom comes from The Lord. He receives all of the glory. Second, I want to thank my best friend and the love of my life, my wife Amy. Amy, you have been the most instrumental person that God has used to help me transform and move closer to Him. I cherish you so deeply. I am grateful for your love, your support, and your patience. God has so enriched my life by placing you by my side on this Journey. You are the BEST wife ever! Third, I want to thank my boys, Zach, Austin, and Jaden. You guys make my heart full and my life happy. Mom and Dad, thank you for all of the love and support you have given and continue to give. You are the best. And Katie, I appreciate you so much as a great sister. My in-laws have also been wonderful. Bill and Kathy, thank you for all you have done for Amy and I and the boys.

There is no way for me to name everyone who has been supporting this project with their love and prayers, but I want to say thank you to my church family: CrossRoads Community Church of the Nazarene. The love and support you have given to me and my family over the years is greatly appreciated. We love each and every one of you. I especially want to thank Jaime and Rose Villalobos who have been such a support in so many ways in our lives both personally and in the church.

None of this could have been possible without the generosity of some who allowed me to cover the costs of self-publishing. To these I am so grateful: Jason and Shannon Bullard, Jim and Judy Bullard, Ron and Janie Young, Bryan and Elisha Corliss, Justin and Ruth Smith, and Nonie Tryon. I am forever grateful to each of you.

Finally, I want to acknowledge three people who really helped this project by reading one manuscript after another giving feedback to help me develop The Journey. Alexis Garza, Erin Devriendt, and Elisha Corliss. I could not have done this without your help. I especially want to thank Elisha Corliss who spent hours and hours reading and working with me to get the words and phrases just right. Thank you Elisha.

CHAPTER 1

Noble Plans

Tomorrow

Looking back is easy. At least, it’s easier to see what God was doing when we look back in time than it is to guess what He will do in the future. There have been so many times in my life when what I was doing at the moment did not make sense. I would ask the Lord what He was doing. I would ask what He was trying to teach me. Many times I would say to the Lord, If you will just tell me what the lesson is, I will gladly learn it and accept it, and then we can move on.

But too often, I did not even know what I was supposed to learn. All I knew was that God was at work. I knew this mainly because it was what I had heard from so many pastors and evangelists in my life. I knew God was working on me somehow, but I was confused. I was dazed. I was frustrated and ready to give up, because I just could not understand what was happening.

After some time passed, things were much clearer. Sometimes, it would be the next day. Other times, years went by before I could look back and understand what God was trying to teach me or do in me or for me. Looking back is much easier than looking a dilemma in the face and wondering what in the world God is doing. Even worse is wondering, What should I do?

As a pastor, I hear this question often. People will come into my office and spill their guts, telling me everything that is going on in their lives. They give me every detail of every situation, and then, after a long time, they finally take a breath and say, What should I do? These conversations revolve around everything under the sun. Should I leave my husband? Should I take this job or stay where I am? Is God calling me into ministry? It goes on and on. Tomorrow seems like such a mystery. And trying to figure out what we should do—whether in certain situations or for the direction of our lives—can be frustrating.

What is tomorrow? What should it be? What should it look like? What does God say about tomorrow? The questions of relationships, career, family, and church can be so difficult. What is God’s plan for your tomorrow, and for all the tomorrows of your life? Let’s consider what the Lord says to us about tomorrow:

Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. (James 4:13-17 NIV)

When we first read this Scripture, it is teaching us that we should not worry about tomorrow. It is even teaching that we should not make any plans. However, the Scripture also teaches us that the noble man makes noble plans (Isaiah 32:8). So, Isaiah is teaching us that if we are going to be noble, with a desire to live our lives producing fruit, we should make plans. We should consider tomorrow and make plans. How do we reconcile these two different thoughts that seem to contradict one another?

The point of the Scripture in James is that we should not take tomorrow for granted. We don’t know if we are going to be here tomorrow. Haven’t we been shocked and surprised when someone suddenly passes away by sickness or tragedy? Yet in spite of our surprise, the truth is that this is life. There is no guarantee for tomorrow. James was teaching us that tomorrow is not a given, and we should not assume that we will be able to do this or that tomorrow. Instead, we should be making noble plans. We should live each day, making the most of our lives. We should plan lives filled with noble things, compassionate things, excellent things—things that will last even when we have expired.

Too many Christians live life as if they have plenty of time to do great things tomorrow. They encounter each morning with a nonchalant attitude, not really having direction or purpose. When we do not plan, aren’t we taking tomorrow for granted? Aren’t we living life as if it does not matter? Aren’t we assuming that we will have more time to realize the plans for our lives? Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, time goes by, and we never really do anything with our lives. To settle for an insignificant life is not only a waste; it is sinful.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins (2 Peter 1:5-9 NIV).

Each one of us, as a believer, has been designated as God’s mouthpiece to the world. An invisible God has chosen you to reveal Him to people in a physical world. What a calling! What an honorable position! I know, I know, most people don’t think that way. They think that God reveals Himself through pastors and teachers, at church and on television.

But this is so far from the truth! God is a personal God. He reaches people right where they are. And we are His missionaries, sent into all of the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ. There are some people in your life who only know one solid Christian—you. What will you do with this responsibility?

God’s plan for us, however, is about more than evangelism. He has called us to help the needy, to take care of widows and orphans, to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and care for the sick. But wait! His plan involves more than just service. You have people under your care, be it a spouse, children, or others. God has called you to provide for them financially, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and socially. You have been created to make a difference and to have an impact. That impact involves more than just the people you come into contact with. God has given you influence over situations that will affect others—people at work, your neighbors, your church, or people around the world. God has great plans for you!

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’ (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV). We have all read or heard this verse a thousand times. But read it again. Let it sink into your spirit. Don’t think for a minute that this does not apply to you. God says that He knew you before He formed your body in the womb of your mom. All of your days have been ordained, and each day of your life has a purpose. God has a plan for each day, and that plan is sometimes a mystery, but it is a mystery within the confines of this passage. No matter what God’s plan is for your life, it includes prosperity, protection, hope, and a future. Praise God!

I want to challenge you to make some noble plans for your life. The word noble means free. It comes from a time when only those of a higher social class were free. Slaves and servants did not always have the freedom to do what they wanted. However, the nobility were free to do as they wanted.

God has made you noble (Exodus 19:6). You are noble, and you are free. You are free today to make your life whatever you want it to be. You are not confined by anything, anyone, or any circumstance. You are not restrained by people, money, or influence. You are not stifled because of your past, your wounds, or your pain. Through it all, you are free to make life what you want it to be. This freedom can get you into trouble if you do not include God in the equation, but you do have freedom to make your life what you want it to be.

Tomorrow is a mystery, but what grand potential every day holds for those who set forth a path of noble plans. Do not let another day just slip by without accomplishing something great or setting the stage to do something great. Don’t take tomorrow for granted. Plan to make it count!

The Place I Will Show You

The Lord had said to Abram, Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (Genesis 12:1-5 NIV)

It is so easy to miss the significance of this passage of Scripture. God laid out this wonderful plan for Abram and his family to be blessed and protected beyond what they could ever imagine. But God told Abram to go to a place that He would show him. He didn’t tell Abram where he was going, and He didn’t even promise that Abram would be able to keep the land that God was going to take him to. The only promise was that God would show him the land.

So Abram gathered all of his family and their possessions—along with his nephew Lot, who was probably somewhat like a son—and they left. The book of Hebrews speaks of Abram’s obedience, though he had no idea where he was going. He just packed up and left. Can you imagine packing up all of your belongings into a giant U-Haul truck or two, loading the kids into the truck, leaving family and friends, and driving off—without any idea where you are going? This was a tremendous act of obedience.

Abram did not argue. He did not back away. He did not roll his eyes or rebel. He was not passive aggressive. He just went. God said, Go! and Abram went.

Before we begin to make plans of our own, our first step should be to ask God what His plans are for us. We can make plans all day long, but unless God is in them, we will work toward these goals in vain. Without God’s guidance, our goals will not accomplish what we hope they will. They will not give us peace, prosperity, or blessing. These plans that we make for ourselves and go after in our own will may sometimes look like a great blessing. But in time we will see that these seemingly wonderful blessings have ensnared us and trapped us in a lifestyle we do not want.

Too often, we make our plans and tell God, This is the plan. Here is what I am going to do. Then we ask God to bless the plans that we made for ourselves rather than ask God what His plans are—even though we know that His plans for us are already blessed because they come from Him.

It is really quite audacious for us to assume that we know the best path for our lives. We have no clue what is going to happen tomorrow, but we have a God who has already existed in every tomorrow of our lives. He knows the hardships that we will face. He knows the flow of the markets, when they will rise and when they will fall. He knows the blessings He plans to bestow upon us, and He knows which of these we will receive and which we will reject. He is not surprised by wars, storms, or global financial meltdowns. He knows it all, and He promises to go before us and open doors of blessing and close doors that would lead us down the wrong paths.

Ask Him. Go ahead. Ask, Lord, what are Your plans for me and my life? Where should I go? What should I do? And wait for His answer.

Abram eventually made it to the place God had for Him. We are told in Scripture how God guided and directed him every step of the way until he settled in what would be the Promised Land. If only we could live within the promise of His guidance, imagine how much less we would worry and stress out. We are so afraid of the unknown, but we serve a God who knows all. I accept not knowing what tomorrow holds, because He is my guide. He will lead me forward, whether the way is blessed or difficult, and I can rest in that. I do not have to live in fear of thoughts like, I hope this happens or I hope that does not happen.

Going one step further, God promises that whatever we face, good or bad, He will work out toward our good. He will use it to make us better people, better fathers, and better mothers. No matter what happens, I am going to be all right, as long as I keep my faith in Jesus Christ. The peace we experience transcends understanding. It bewilders people and give us the opportunity to give Him glory.

Right now, as you consider your future, stop worrying. Stop stressing. Stop being anxious. So what if you don’t know what to do or where to go or who to hang on to or let go of. No worries. Your God in heaven does know what you should do, and in time, when it is time, He will guide your next step. Step by step with God, you will overcome every obstacle and every pain, and little by little, His most glorious plan for your life will fall into place.

Our Purpose

Sometimes we have a tendency to look at the world as if we are the center of it and the world revolves around us. This is in part a design by God. When we are children, we must assume that the world revolves around us, or we may not make our needs known to our caregivers. If a baby is not persistent about crying when hungry or thirsty or having a full diaper, these needs may not be met in a timely manner.

But as we grow up, we must change the way we think. The world does not revolve around us. I know that some of us struggle with the shock of learning that there is life in the universe outside of us, but trust me, it is true. You and I are not the center of the universe. This means, of course, that your thoughts, your plans, and your desires are not the most important things going on at any given time. We have to stop making plans as if