God’s Big Plans For You

by John E. Thomas

How You Can Prepare for God’s Big Plans

God wants to work through you in ways that would blow your mind if you saw them in advance.

His plans for us are beyond anything we could imagine. He created us to fill an important role in His great plan for the ages: that of revealing Himself to creation through creation.

The weight of glory God wants to share with us is immense—bigger than we think, which is why we need to prepare ourselves for what is coming. God’s presence and power are increasing in the church.

Are we ready?

As Paul said, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).

How Can You Prepare for What God Is Doing?

In The Art of Hearing God, John Paul Jackson taught about private and public victories. We prepare for public victories—the big things everyone sees and knows about—through private victories, which very few or no one knows about. If we are not prepared in the secret place for public victories, the weight of adulation will destroy us.

Private victories are small acts of obedience known only to God and the one who obeyed Him. Things like when we’re prompted to pray in secret, give in secret, fast in secret—and we say yes. We obey God quietly, and He rewards us openly (Matt. 6:1–21).

These seemingly insignificant acts of submission are like the sand in concrete. One grain of sand might not do much, but a lot of sand mixed with the water of the Spirit creates a foundation that can withstand great weight.

When God uses us to pull someone out of a wheelchair at our workplace, or lay bare the secrets of someone’s heart, or preach a message that sparks a move of God in our city, our history of obedience allows for two things to occur:

1. We have the courage to obey God in the moment.
2. We have the ability to give Him all the glory.

What If a Person Doesn’t Have Private Victories?

A lack of private victories causes two problems.

First, if we haven’t obeyed in the small things, we won’t obey in the big things (Luke 16:10). Our private failures breed a fear of failure that can cause us to shrink back, not believing God wants to use us or that we could be used.

But again, when we’ve obeyed God in the little things, we have courage for the big things. That simple principle is how David could tell Saul, “Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them” (1 Sam. 17:36).

Here’s the second problem that comes from a lack of private victories: Without the internal strength built through private victories, the weight of success reveals a person’s internal weaknesses.

Little sins we haven’t dealt with become much bigger as God uses us more powerfully.

• What began as a small desire for people to like us can grow into a driving desire to convince others we’re really anointed.
• What began as a small amount of envy can turn into a manipulation for personal gain.
• What began as “I deserve more than this” can grow into lording over people and requiring preferential treatment.

Listen to God’s Leading

In the same way that private victories lead to public victories, private failures lead to public failures.

But the answer is simple—all we have to do is listen to God and deal with these things in the secret place, and then our shortcomings don’t need to become public failures.

When God prompts you to do something, remember Nike and just do it. Pray about the situation He lays on your heart. Give your money to the homeless person. Call your friend or family member. Hold the door for the person behind you. Pick up the trash on the street.

The key to seeing great moves of God in your life is obedience. God prompts and you obey—that is the recipe for a strong foundation.

God Wants to Use You in Big Ways

As you grow in obedience, you will find God using you more and more—not because you deserve it or have earned it, but because He knows it won’t destroy you and He loves you enough to wait until you can handle it!

Believe for big things, because God’s plans are big. Bigger than you think.

Keep going after Him, stay humble, stay obedient, and watch miracles explode around you.