What is God's plan for us?

Sometimes it seems as if the patterns of life are haphazard. We feel tossed from one event to another, from one job to another -- or else stuck in tedious, unrelenting drudgery. We may be afraid of change, or we may flit from pursuit to pursuit without establishing excellence in anything.

But in fact there is a guiding Principle that can be the source and impetus of everything we do. Our job is to be aware of this Principle and obedient to it, even if the obedience goes against our own inclinations at times. This Principle is God, and God is the tender, loving Father and Mother of all, providing the very highest and best for His children.

What is meant by a life controlled by God? Because of the nature of God, anything that stems from Him must be wholly spiritual. The true universe including life, belongs to God. Because God is omnipotent and ever present, there can be no possibility of anything ungodlike. There can be only good. This is what God knows. This is the only reality. It is unique, complete, perfect, serene, and abrim with joy.

When we trust God's control, unsought and unexpected opportunities fill our lives. This trust comes from an intuition, or spiritual sense, of what is always true -- which in turn leads to discernment of what is right in a given situation. It is only through spiritual sense that we discern God's direction and have complete confidence in it.

How can we learn more about this influence and impetus in our lives so that we can respond consistently? The Bible contains the answers we need.

Both Old and New Testaments affirm again and again the need to turn to God, to open our hearts and actions to Him. The counsel in the book of Isaiah, for instance, stresses the need for quietness and confidence, n1 and gives that lovely promise, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." n2

n1 See Isaiah 30:15;

n2 Isaiah 30:21.

The life of Christ Jesus was the supreme example of recognition and understanding of God's will. It is helpful to remind ourselves that his ministry of healing and teaching included many hours spent in solitary communion with God.

The clamor of opinion, personal desire, human influence, has to be silenced in our own lives. Then we begin to realize that God is at hand. We are His immortal children. He is already and always speaking to us.

With this realization comes a longing to know more of God. As one searches, the understanding that God's creation is spiritual and that we belong to this creation deepens. We cannot expect to feel God's guidance through the physical senses or by material means. What we need to do is recognize our own individual spirituality, which includes the ability to understand and obey. We need to cherish and nurture our sense of spirituality.

As we are alert to this need, God's control becomes a certainty, bringing relief from anxious responsibility and pressure of decisions. This certainty gives the quietness and confidence Isaiah spoke of, and we are ready to receive the promise.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, followed Jesus' example. She spent many hours communing with God and studying the Bible. Her life, teaching, and achievements bear testimony to this. In the Christian Science textbook she writes, "Spirit, God, gathers unformed thoughts into their proper channels, and unfolds these thoughts, even as He opens the petals of a holy purpose in order that the purpose may appear." n4

n4 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 506.m

God's purpose and plan for each of us is already established. We can, with humility and confidence, trust Him and trust our spiritual intuitions, for they are God's gifts. The thrilling thing is that God's purpose is so often unexpected and far greater than anything we could have planned. We can look forward with wondering expectancy. DAILY BIBLE VERSE The trees of the Lord are full of sap where the birds make their nest . . . The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the rocks for the conies . . . O Lord, how manifold are thy works! Psalm 104:16-18,24