Romans 1:13
13 Now [de] I would [thelo] not [ou] have [agnoeo] you [humas] ignorant [agnoeo], brethren [adelphos], that [hoti] oftentimes [pollakis] I
purposed [protithemai] to come [erchomai] unto [pros] you [humas], (but [kai] was let [koluo] hitherto [achri] [deuro],) that [hina] I might have [echo] some [tis] fruit [karpos] among [en] you [humin] also [kai], even as [kathos] [kai] among [en] other [loipoy] Gentiles [ethnos]. KJV-Interlinear
13 And I do not want you to be
unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been
prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also,
even as among the rest of the Gentiles. NASB
The principle in this verse is, there are two sets
of plans for life, yours and Gods. At
the time of this writing, Paul reveals that he deeply desires to go to Rome and
visit the Christians there, and to teach them.
But one thing after another kept him from being able to make that trip.
In hindsight, it was Gods plan to have Paul in Rome,
only not on Pauls timetable, but on Gods.
And furthermore, it was not going to be a trip of
choice, but a trip of adversity.
At this writing Paul would not know what exactly was
in his future.
So the principle in this verse is, there are two
sets of plans for life, yours and Gods.
We all start out in life with visions of grandeur
and glamor and success and achievement and such. But from the time we can first begin to want
things at a very young age, to the time we are adults, we will most likely find
our plans changing as we get older and as the circumstances of our life change,
not to mention the realities of what we can or cannot do, as well as the many
people in our lives that have their own ideas as to what you should or should
not do.
In this world we all have limitations. Sometimes they are related to our
environment, to our education, to our geographical area, to our culture, to our
health, and on and on and on.
In all cases, God has a plan. He has a plan for your life. He has a plan that is accomplishable even if
you do not believe that there is a plan for you.
David was a mere shepherd boy and was made
king. Paul was an apostle, imprisoned
and executed, and yet wrote most of the New Testament.
The libraries are full of stories of people who
accomplished great things while under the most miserable of conditions, of
people who never gave up even when things kept falling apart.
Likewise there are stories of people who gave up
and never went anywhere, or even of people who have only opinions to offer
everyone else.
The Lord does not rely on human means to fulfill
His plans, the battle is the Lords. Is
that something that you have heard before?
The rain falls on the righteous as well as on the
unrighteous. God makes those successful,
that He wants to be successful and those unsuccessful, that He wants to be
unsuccessful. The Lord gives insurmountable
tasks to those that He wants to face the insurmountable, and the easy path to
those who He wants.
Your life is no different.
And though you may want this or that from life,
whether you get it or not, is irrelevant.
What is relevant, is your spiritual life and
whether you are pursuing it as you should.
God wants everyone to be spiritually successful,
because that is the relevant thing in your life.
Everything else in this world is just filler,
logistics, things to pass the time for this life in this world, as well as
training for your being responsible, for your being accountable, for your
fundamental character and personality.
When combined with an advancing spiritual life,
then you will be on track for God to use you in His plan. And His plan is not likely the same as your
plan. His use of you, is not likely as
glamorous as your ideas for life.
Whether or not you change diapers or do dishes, or
invent new technologies, is irrelevant.
For those things mean nothing if you do not have a spiritual life.
Life in this world will come to an end for each one
of us, and then we will all be faced with eternity. Those who are better prepared for eternity will
have an infinitely greater plan from God, than are those who enter eternity without
preparation.
And in this life, if your plans happen to come
together, then you still need to prepare yourself spiritually. And if your
plans never seem to get off the ground, you still need to have a spiritual plan
for your ultimate eternal goal.
Always look to God and to heaven, and never feel
depressed or abandoned or disillusioned if things do not work out for you in
this life. Certainly you need to learn to deal with the criticisms and opinions
of others.
Likewise, if things go well for you in life, then
do not for even a moment believe that you no longer need God or that you have
arrived and are no longer in need of a daily study.
Studying the Bible is like studying the
universe. Its contents are so vast that
you will never learn them all, never.
