8. God's Plans to Prosper You | Are You Sure That's What It Means?

"I wish I could figure out what God's plan is for my life." Many Christians have mouthed these anguished words. They read Jeremiah 29:11 and conclude that God has a detailed, tailored plan for their life that they just need to discover. This presumes that Jeremiah 29:11 is directed at us specifically, as well as the idea that we have no choices in life, kind of like chess pieces on a board that God moves around according to his will. When we start listening to the feelings of our heart, the passions that we have, or some "voice of God" we think we hear when we pray, in order to discover this plan, we are led either to idolatry or despair. What we really need is to trust the all-sufficient revealed Word of God and rejoice in the freedom it gives us through Christ.