"The more precisely you plan the harder destiny hits you."
I can think of times in my life when I had every little detail of my future planned out only to discover in due time my plan wasn’t God’s plan, and I had to abruptly change course. And the changes I had to make did not come easy.
Can you relate?In my high school and college years, I figured my destiny was to become a millionaire. I had my next 40 years all outlined. My mind was made up, and I set my sights, time and energy on achieving my monetary “destiny.”
God had different plans for me though. I was to go into the full-time practice of Christian Science at a young age.
Shortly after graduating from college, it became increasingly apparent that a life devoted to financial gain was not the life for me. I needed a career more Spirit-based to keep me genuinely happy, satisfied and content.
Patients called for help, healings occurred, my practice grew. This was work I loved to do.
But the prospect of devoting my full-time to a spiritual ministry caused seismic upheavals in my thinking.
What about becoming a millionaire? What about building a big house and buying a glitzy sports car? What about saving for an affluent retirement? These goals and desires were rapidly crashing to the ground and smashing to smithereens.
The more I resisted, the unhealthier and unhappier I became. My health started to fail. Strain and stress threw me into bouts of illness until I finally capitulated and readily admitted to myself and God, that God’s plan was the better plan.
I changed course. I dropped my monetary goals entirely and adopted the spiritual direction God was leading me. My health recovered. A deep settled peace took hold, and I’ve increasingly experienced the benefits of being obedient for 20 years since. My “destiny” was not to serve mammon, but to serve God, and the rewards have been immense.
Each of us have a destiny…but it’s not a material future outlined in precise detail by the human mind. Fame, popularity, success, notoriety, money, are all fleeting, empty,--as feathers tossed in the wind,--that do not satisfy in the long run. We all need more. We need to discover and experience our spiritual connection to God. And the divine powers that be are moving us in that direction at all times whether we like it or not.
If we quickly yield and accept the divine plan, we move forward with grace, ease, health and joy.
If we resist, we suffer.
When the divine plan is pressed, like during my awakening to God’s plan for me, what we had outlined in precise detail shatters before our eyes and we believe our world is coming apart. But this is never true. It’s a false and limited view of life that is falling apart and necessarily failing, and the sooner we drop the limited human plan and wholeheartedly embrace the divine, the quicker life comes back together again and we prosper and progress.
"The pains of sense are salutary, if they wrench away false pleasurable beliefs and transplant the affections from sense to Soul, where the creations of God are good, "rejoicing the heart." Such is the sword of Science, with which Truth decapitates error, materiality giving place to man's higher individuality and destiny." Mary Baker Eddy
2 comments:
Dear Evan...thank you for this reminder....i have certainly learned this lesson so many times in the past year....yielding is sometimes the hardest thing we can do...and the rewards are often not immediately clear, but trusting God's hand in our lives and on hearts brings unexpected blessings....thank you for this post...Kate
Yes. Great ideas. In the past few months I've changed my job, my address, and my focus. Instead of staying in my lovely apt, I am living in an older woman's home and helping her with her healing. Obediently following what could appear to be a backward step is bringing me such peace of mind! The divine promise that came with this leading to care for this lovely woman was that I would be put into the healing work full time. And the blessings are many. I'm growing more quickly, feeling more loved because I'm loving more, and sleeping soundly for the first time in many years. There's no time to postpone heaven! And heaven is where I find myself when I listen to, and OBEY God's loving direction for my life. The the Bible says, God "quickens" everything when we are a good son and daughter.
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