In 2002, Pastor Rick Warren wrote a book he titled, The Purpose Driven Life. Publisher’s Weekly called it the bestselling non-fiction hardback in publishing history, selling more than 32 million copies.

What was the appeal? It answered the basic question, Why am I here? It offered readers a path to uncover their unique purpose and to formulate a plan to fulfill it.

God has always been a Planner. Nothing is haphazard in His universe. The trees He grew have purposeful seasons. The sun, moon, and stars He set with courses and orbits; the oceans He regulated by tides. He established seasons in the hemispheres, set by the perfect tilt and rotation of our planet.

Nothing is haphazard in His ecosystem. The myriad of players in His universe all converge and interact; they all benefit and sacrifice; they are all completely dependent upon each other to sustain and fulfill God’s intended purposes.

Nothing is haphazard in His creation. When He created the first man and woman in His perfect garden, He gave them everything they needed to fulfill their purpose. He outlined their responsibilities along with rules, boundaries, and expectations. O, what a plan He had there.

So, one day I’m reading in Isaiah looking for context about another matter and I hit the middle of chapter 28. I’ll paraphrase:

Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil? When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway, scatter cumin, and plant wheat in its field?

His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.

Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick. Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a cart may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain. All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent.

Just as He planned the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them, our Father made a plan for us. Today. HIS PLAN IS WONDERFUL AND HIS WISDOM IS MAGNIFICENT. Today. Just as His ecosystem incorporates every finite part into the whole, so is His plan for us detailed and intricate – beyond finding out (Rom.11:36). The encounters that bring us frustration today may be necessary to bring about a greater purpose tomorrow. The roadblock that proves uncrossable today may ‘make a way where there is no way’ in the future. The phone call that rocks our world this afternoon will be purposed and accounted for. Our Father wastes nothing. HIS PLAN IS WONDERFUL AND HIS WISDOM IS MAGNIFICENT.

No, the farmer does not plow and continue plowing over and over. He must plant. What he grows is not harvested by a ‘one size fits all’ method. God instructs him in the right way. He, alone, knows best how to produce a bountiful harvest in our lives. Like the farmer, He instructs and teaches us. Thus, we become like a tree planted by the streams of water that yields fruit in its season; whose leaf does not wither; and whatever he does, he prospers. (Ps.1:3)

Our Father is not haphazard. Our lives and the smallest events of them are not capricious and arbitrary. The Grand Planner who fulfills all of His purposes and integrates all of the moving parts of our days, has a plan. Today. And HIS PLAN IS WONDERFUL AND HIS WISDOM IS MAGNIFICENT!