Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - HIS PLANS

HIS PLANS

There are a number of places in Scripture where it states or infers that God had plans set down for us before we were born. In Psalms is says:

For You formed my inward parts; 

You covered me in my mother’s womb.

…I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

…My frame was not hidden from You, 

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

…The days were fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them. 

(Psalm 139:13-16)

In Jeremiah:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; 

Before you were born I sanctified you… 

(Jeremiah 1:5)

Again in Isaiah:

…The Lord has called Me from the womb;

From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. 

(Isaiah 49:1)

Also in Galatians:

when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb

and called me by His grace… 

(Galatians 1:15 NIV)

Additionally, there are many other places in the Bible indicating that God was aware of us before we were born.

So, if God had this knowledge of us, then it is evident that many of us do not fulfil His ambitions for us. But in addition to this, how about those who die in the womb before birth or those whose mother have their pregnancy terminated for whatever reason? One source has stated that such a number is greater than 60 million* in the US alone. What about the plans God had for these individuals? We’ll never know.

But today we do know about at least a few who probably would not have gone through with their pregnancy if what is acceptable now was available in their day.** 

Consider:

1. A very poor couple with 14 children and now expecting another.
2. A sick husband and a pregnant wife with TB but also with 4 children: one blind, a second deceased, a third deaf, and a fourth also with TB.
3. A 13 year old coloured girl raped by a white male and now pregnant.
4. A teenage girl pregnant and not by her fiancé who is angry and upset.

Most, if not all these situations would be considered for termination of pregnancy under today’s system and perhaps justification could be well made. But if such had been done in these cases, then:

1. We would not have had John Wesley one of the world’s greatest evangelists in the 19th century.
2. We would never have had Beethoven.
3. We would have terminated the life of Ethel Waters a great black gospel singer.
4. We would have stopped the life of Christ.

If God truly does know the plans He has for each of us, then consider what He must feel when He sees what is happening in today’s world.

It is something to seriously think about.

* The Return of the Gods by Jonathan Cahn, p.g. 112

**Examples taken from The  Evidence Bible, p.g. 804