Christians (or others) ... do you really believe God guides every thing that happens to us?

[Pattertwig]

I am waiting to hear from this social work MA course I applied for.

I REALLY want to do it - it would solve my entire world's problems; being on benefits, no money, no prospects... the whole lot

BUT, as a Christian who is trying to reignite her faith, I am leaning towards the "You're in control" thinking... but am struggling, tbh.

IF I don't get it, does that mean it ain't for me in the big picture in the sky, or does it mean I didn't perform well enough on the day?

and if it doesn't happen - what on earth IS the plan for my life? I can't bum along on benefits any more... it's ruining me.

I am just struggling with the "everything happens for a reason and He has your life in His hands" thing atm.....

sorry for rambling

As a Christian I believe that God is in control, and if things dont work out as we would like them to, God has a better plan for us.
This does not measn you can sit on your bum and expect God to hand everything to us on a plate.

Its frustrating not knowing what the plan is for the future, but God knows, so believe that and relax.

Sorry, just got a phone call and need to collect DD from work. I will try and hop back later.

To put it very very briefly - I believe there is an 'end point' he hopes for us - how we get there is a joint process between God and us as individuals.

If things don't work out as you had hoped, it doesn't necessarily mean that it was part of God's plan that it shouldn't, but nor does it mean that he can't work something very very good out of an unexpected or unwanted situation.

I hope that makes some sense - it's been a very long day

Good luck - I hope you get what you want, and if you don't, that God shows you another way to get to your 'end point'.

Hi Patterwig

As a Christian I believe that God longs us to pray and ask his direction in our lives. I don't believe that He interferes unless we ask Him to.

Before job interviews or other major turning points, I do always ask Him to block me if the way I am going is not right for me. It's hard to tell sometimes whether I have got it right, but I do know there are times when something hasn't worked out, and though I haven't seen it at the time, I have realised much later on that it really wasn't the right thing for me.

I'm very happy to join you in praying that He will bless your application process and that you will know His presence and blessings, whatever the answer, if you would like me to.

Let us know how you get on!

I think that if we pray and listen to God, then we can see whether we are headed in a good direction or a bad one. And I believe that God has an overall plan in mind for the world, which will be advanced bit by bit as people listen to God trying to guide them.

I don't think that God has decided to give you a place on that course, or to deny you a place - but I do think that if this is a good thing for you to be doing then God will help you to have the strength and committment to make a go of it, and that if it doesn't work out that God will help give you strength and committment to take some other opportunity that will come along.

For me, the difference between living my life believing in God, and not believing, is that as well as getting advice and guidance from people round me, and learning from where things went wrong, I can also get a bit of a steer from God - but that's a long way from thinking that everything is already mapped out and I just have to follow a track which has been laid down in front of me. We all wander around - we just have a compass, not a set of rails to follow!

as a christian i believe God is in control,,for He holds us in the palm of His hand,,and Jer says 'for i know the plans that i have for you,plans of a good future,and that He will show us things we would never even have imagined,,however He has also given us free will,so we pray for His guidance in the choices that we make and if we listen and follow we will eventually get where we need to be,,

remember though that if you ask for His will in your life,He will take you to where He wants you to be not where you want to be,,sometimes if what you want is in line with what He wants ,then it happens,,remember its a walk of FAITH,,not works,so trust Him and make good choices,,

we are not meant to understand God's plan,but to love Him,follow Him and do good,and believe,,He doesn't have to tell us anything or explain anything,He doesnt say figure me out,,He says follow me,we will never have all the answers here on earth,,

I think that God has an endpoint for my life but it is up to me how I get there.

As a person I have free will and it would also be rather unjust if God were to reward and punish me for the decisions he makes for me.

But as others have said God is there to ask for support and help, I can exercise my free will and turn to him.

I am struggling at the moment to understand why God seems to think that I should not have any more children though.