“Fulfilling God’s Plan, Part 1” by Nancy Dufresne
The only thing that makes a man’s life great is the plan of God!
As Kenneth Copeland states, “The will of God is our wealthy place.” Being in the will of God and carrying out His plan enriches every arena of life.
Many struggle to prosper in their finances, in their health, in their marriage, and in their business, but if they would just make it their priority to know and walk out God’s plan by faith, then they would be in position to receive God’s best, for that’s the place where health, prosperity, marriages, businesses, and every arena abound.
Psalm 127:1 instructs us, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.” We can build something on our own, but if we do, it will be in vain. Instead, we are to get the plan for our life from Him and co-labor with Him in that plan.
We are not to form a plan – we are to hear a plan – God’s plan for our life!
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” – hearing what God is saying to us (Rom. 10:17). When we hear what God is saying to us, then the faith comes to walk it out, because faith only comes by hearing what He is saying to us.
When we hear what God is saying to us, then we also hear the answer we are to speak to all opposition. We are to tell our need what God said!
Jesus stated, “…My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). Just as food nourished His body, carrying out the will of God nourished His life!
Because Jesus stayed with God’s plan for His life, opposition that came against Him from every side was unable to touch Him! It made Him inaccessible to His enemies. It protected Him in the face of adversity. Jesus’ obedience to God’s plan gave every man a Savior, rescuing humanity.
Paul declared, “I have fought a good fight, I have FINISHED my course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). Paul fulfilled the plan of God for his life, and we are still being blessed by his obedience 2,000 years later. (Just think if every minister and every believer obeyed God’s plan for their life what this earth would look like!)
A Divine Checklist
Paul finished his course, and in Acts 20, he gives us a divine check list of the 6 steps he took to fulfill God’s plan.
“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:22-24).
#1 – Bound In The Spirit
“I go BOUND in the spirit unto Jerusalem…” What was “Jerusalem?” The place where God told him to be.
Our “Jerusalem” is the place where God told us to be. Be “bound” inwardly to where God told you to be, and don’t be swayed from it for anything or anyone.
The AMPC translation reads, “I am going to Jerusalem, bound by the [Holy] Spirit and obligated and compelled by the [convictions of my own] spirit.” Paul chose to be “bound” to the convictions of his own spirit – bound to God’s plan for his life.
Paul was “bound” (not in bondage), meaning he was committed, consecrated, and in agreement with God’s will in his spirit.
Job 22:21 tells us, “Acquaint now yourself with Him [AGREE with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will] and be at peace; by that [you shall prosper and great] good shall come to you” (AMPC).
Those who are “acquainted” with God agree with Him. To not agree shows we aren’t as acquainted with Him as we ought to be.
“…SHOW yourself to be conformed to His will….” That means to do what He says.
When we agree with God and do what He says, then we will be at peace, we will prosper, and great good will come to us – we won’t have to chase it!
Agreeing with God and His plan and walking it out by faith is where victory lies.
Struggle comes from not agreeing with God – not agreeing with God’s Word and His plan for our life.
When we don’t agree with or we veer from His plan, we will struggle inwardly and outwardly (with health, finances, marriage, home, ministry, etc.).
What is God dealing with us about? We need to agree with Him on that and obey.
To be “bound” to what God is saying to us is really to be consecrated.
Paul stated, “I GO bound….” We aren’t effective and safe to “go” until we agree in our spirit with what God is saying, otherwise opposition has an open door to our life.
Place great emphasis and great value on the plan of God for your life. Never belittle or diminish the value of what God has put in you or how God uses you – that’s dangerous.
Never complain against the will of God. The Hebrews complained their way through the wilderness and that first generation never arrived at the land God had for them. Complaining was simply a symptom of their unbelief, and they died in the wilderness, never arriving. We must rid ourselves of all complaint. It’s a bad habit that will rob from our faith.
God’s will is never grievous, and we are to delight greatly in all He commands of us (1 John 5:3 & Ps. 112:1).
When we agree with God’s will, we step into joy; we no longer struggle with what He is telling us to do. To trust God is to agree with Him and obey; we are to agree with what He tells us to do.
Paul was ready to go to a place where he would face opposition because he was “bound,” and he showed his agreement with God’s plan by obeying it. Paul stayed with what he had in his spirit; he didn’t let others sway him.
It’s dangerous to override your spirit! Never violate your spirit! Never go against what you have in your spirit. To run with joy and finish with joy, you must stay true to how your spirit is leading you. We can’t override what’s in our spirit and expect to finish as we ought. We aren’t to even entertain something different than what we have in our spirit.
We must be “bound” to the plan of God, but we must also recognize that to help us walk out His plan accurately, God will bring divine connections into our life. God will connect us with someone who knows Him better than us. He will lead us to those who will lead us to Him. God will lead us to those who are anointed to impart into and enhance the anointing and mantle that are on our life.
But we must choose to be “bound” to the man of God where God told us to be connected. If someone isn’t tightly bound to where God told them to be, then pressure can separate them from that place.
In a vehicle, if connections are loose, that vehicle won’t run right. We must be closely and tightly connected to those God gives to speak into our life if we are to fulfill what we are born for.
That doesn’t mean they are to be our buddy, but they are a voice to speak into our life. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:9).
Barnabas separated from his divine connection with Paul, and when he did, he sailed off the pages of history and we never heard of him again.
We are to be “bound” to God’s plan for our life, but also “bound” to those God has divinely connected us to, for they are God’s supply to help us finish our course.
(Part 2 continued next month)