God's Plan For Me

Once you were under God's curse, doomed forever for your sins. You went along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were under God's anger just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead - only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved - and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms - all because of what Christ Jesus did. And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus Christ.

Because of his kindness you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves, it too is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others. Ephesians 2:1-10 (TLB)

Terry J. Burns, from Florida, had a plan for the next few hours: take a walk with her husband, eat lunch, and attend an online Bible study. The timing would be tight, but she would be able to do it all.

When Terry and her husband started their walk, Terry spotted their neighbor. She felt led to talk with her, and got to know her on a deeper level. Then near the end of their walk, they stopped to talk with another neighbor. She told them she was experiencing a major struggle, and they promised to pray for her.

Only 30 minutes before Bible study, her sister called with exciting news. Terry had not yet eaten lunch and feared she would be late. But then she saw an email from the study leader asking Terry to offer the opening prayer, so she quickly ate her lunch and joined the meeting on time.

In the past, a day like this would have stressed Terry out. But since studying Ephesians 2:10 with her Bible study group, she has begun praying that God will open her eyes and heart to God's plans for her. God often calls her to listen, share, and do good works. Terry strives to be willing and joyful as she fulfills God's purpose for her.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, grant us the wisdom and courage to accomplish the works you call us to do, in Jesus' name. Amen.