You Were Planned Before Time Began

By Lorraine Hall

Have you ever found yourself asking these questions? ‘Is there a purpose to my life?’  ‘Is there a destiny or a plan for me or am I just an accident of some kind?’ 

We all experience times of insecurity when we long for a true sense of belonging and acceptance.  We often look for affirmation from those around us, or we work hard towards being successful in some way so that we feel valid and worthwhile.

In pondering these questions I could not help but think of the TV programs I have watched where families are reunited after many years of separation.  I must admit that I am find these shows very interesting.  Over the past few years I have come into contact with a number of people who were adopted, and I have been quite captivated with their life stories.  It is fascinating to realize how the context of belonging in a family plays such an important part of our sense of worth, acceptance and completeness. 

Some of my adopted friends have shared with me their journey in dealing with their insecurities and feelings of rejection.  They also shared the deep assurance they came to as they realized that God had been watching over them from the time of their birth.  One young man told me that although he did finally find his natural family, he was so thankful to his adoptive parents (whom he loves) because they had taught him true godliness.  Even though he is in regular contact with his natural family and enjoys the benefits of this, he is thankful for the plan that God had for him in his adoption. 

All of us have different backgrounds and different personalities.  Nevertheless, we all share the same need for acceptance, belonging, and purpose.  This is not just limited to those who have broken relationships or dysfunctional family backgrounds. 

The media feeds us a constant diet of things we must do to feel fulfilled.  The message seems to say to women that we must be beautiful.  We must workout to also be fit and slim, and then be successful in a career and in our relationships.  We must be super mums who can juggle ten things at once and still be unflustered and, of course, ever beautiful.  Quite a high standard to live up to, really!  I think we might all feel quite daunted by that list of requirements.

When we are young, our hopes and dreams often centre around goals of future relationships, marriage and successful careers.  So we set off in life with great enthusiasm and ideals.  We may or may not achieve these goals.  However, throughout the different seasons of life we are often filled with self-doubt and questions.  What is the purpose of life?  What have I achieved?  Of what value am I anyway?  As we get older these questions often get louder and louder in our minds.

The astonishing news I would like to share is that, yes, there is a plan and purpose for each one of us.  This plan was made long before the world began.  That is a bit mind-blowing!  God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit together made a plan.  Their heart was for the Father to have many children joined to Him in the same way as family is joined together.  Did you ever consider that you were planned and formed out of a heart of love?  The Father’s heart of love planned exactly who you would be, not just for your lifespan on earth, but that you would also live, love and relate with Him for eternity.

There is a Psalm that I love that talks about how God the Father watched over our conception and formation.  The psalmist wrote, ‘You have possessed my inward parts; You wove me in the womb of my mother.  I will thank You, for with awesome ways I am distinguished; Your works are marvellous, and my soul knows it very well.  My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret; when I was woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my embryo; and in Your book all my members were written, the days they were formed, and not one was yet among them.  And how precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!  If I should count them, they are more than the sand.’ Psa 139:13-18 

The wonderful thing about all this is that, despite how we might feel about ourselves, the Father is longing for each of us to be His beloved child.  He longs to be a Father to us.  He planned for that.  But we must also remember that He gives each one of us a choice.  We either choose to be His child or we choose not to be.  He does not force that upon us.  His love, His plan and His life are freely available to us, but the choice is also ours to make. 

The bible says that God is a consuming fire.  So how can we approach Him?  Jesus, the Son of God, came as a man amongst us so that we could see Him, approach Him and  know Him.  But the first reason He came was to show us the Father and His heart of love.  It seems quite inconceivable that the Son of God would humble himself in such a way – that He would come as a human, a man with all the frailties that we experience, so that we could understand and know the love of God. 

You might already know the verse from the book of John that says  ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’.  Later John declares, ‘Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!’  Can you imagine that?  We can be God’s sons and daughters if we will choose to come to Him – choose His life.  He has a predestination, a plan, a purpose, a work and relationships that are already prepared for us.  But we must come to Him.  It is a bit like us making a delicious meal for the family and then calling them to come and eat.  If they are pre-occupied with what they are doing and do not come and eat, then they miss out on all that you have prepared for them.

I spoke earlier about those people who found some sort of belonging and acceptance in finding their natural family.  It is the same, only deeper, when we know we are children of God.  He is our Father and we belong in His family with others who are also sons and daughters of God.  These are our brothers and sisters ‘in Christ’.  Paul said, ‘I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom every family in Heaven and on earth is named.’  Eph 3:14-15 

When we give ourselves to Him and His love, we can know true belonging, acceptance and worth.  We can know His plan for our lives, and we can find fulfilment, not only in this life, but also for eternity.