Claire and I laughed and laughed when we saw this giant ladder on this little Mazda Miata as we were driving on the interstate. When the engineers at Mazda were designing the Miata, I highly doubt they were thinking, “It can be a utility vehicle to carry around large ladders.”
Yet many people in life find themselves in a similar predicament. What they were created for and their current life do not match up at all. Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” You see God has created each one of us and has given us unique places in time and history and unique gifts to use. When we are living life according to our own rules and desires we step outside of God’s plan and go out on our own. How foolish to think we could know better than God what is best for the future.
So how can we make sure that we do not go through life like a Miata carrying a ladder?
1. Make sure you truly know God through faith in His Son Jesus. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
2. Read the Bible consistently with an open heart and mind. II Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
3. Pray daily seeking to grow closer to God. Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
4. Repent of things in your life that you know don’t please God. Ephesians 4:22-24, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
5. Be involved in a local church where you have godly fellowship and accountability. Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
6. Seek Godly counsel. Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
7. Act on what you know is right. James 1:22-25, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
If you know Jesus and are consistently doing 2-7, I believe you will get on and stay true to the plan God has for you. Remember in that great exchange we get to give Jesus the unwieldy burdens that we have picked up along the way and only carry what He gives us. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
We must come to the realization that unless we are living according to God’s plan, then we cannot fully love Him and love our neighbors as He created us to do. If your life does not line up with what God created you for, will you give up your plan and take on His?
Love 