I’ve always been a daddy’s girl. I always had a boldness about me, knowing that my dad always had my back. I was one of those annoying little kids that would go: “I’m gonna tell my daddy!” if anyone got in my way. And I did!

I recall one such incident in my high school years… a pair of sisters were taunting me, saying really hurtful things about my parent’s recent separation. Despite the fact that there was somewhat of a disconnect between my dad and I, I still went running to him. He put me straight into his car and drove to their home to address the situation. Needless to say, those girls never bothered me again.

In hindsight, I think that it was this very relationship that I had with my dad that has shaped my personal relationship with God, my love for Jesus and my utter dependence on the Holy Spirit.

Not everyone has had a positive father figure, so let this be said before I proceed, God is The Good Father. He is the epitome of Fatherhood and He loves us beyond measure. God calls us His children and loves us enough to have sent His Son to die for us. God is good and wants what’s best for us!

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

As I continue to developed this beautiful relationship with God, I have learned each day to embrace the plan that He has for my life. God speaks of these plans in various scriptures including:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

Psalm139:16

Much like a good parent has plans for their kids, to give them the best life possible, with every detail taken care of, God has a perfect plan for our lives. Not just a plan for our good, but also for His Glory.

God has a specific purpose for each of us, He is likened to a potter in scripture. When the potter creates something, he moulds it with his hands. He carefully shapes it, moulding it to perfection and with purpose.

God’s creation of us illustrates great intimacy, even from the very onset, He formed Adam out of soil with His very hands, instead of speaking him into being as He did with the rest of creation.

Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God’s handiwork. Psalm 139:13 talks of how “He knit us together”… as with the potter, it speaks of the care, love and details with which he created us. Why? Because we are so special and each of us are created with a very specific purpose.

We could view it very simply like this… We are on a stage, the script has been written and all we need to do is embrace our part and character. Note, we are not puppets, God has given us free will. We need to choose to follow the script.

Now imagine if you were a damsel in distress and your knight in shining armour chooses not to follow his script and simply doesn’t arrive on cue! Very simplistic, I know, but consider the fact that you may have been destined to find a cure for cancer, but you simply got side-tracked trying to be an accountant instead?

Every one of us is born with a unique fingerprint. Nearly 8 billion people on this earth and every single print differs. That is how precisely each of us has been designed. Why would God go through all that trouble if He meant for us to behave like robots?

We have become conditioned to follow the norms of society. Being successful is considered going to school, studying and finding a high profile job. It is rare for people to follow their heart and develop God given, unique talents. We get so caught up in making money and buying a fancy car and a big house, that we often miss our purpose and end up hustling to make ends meet, in a dangerous state of desperation that simply leaves us exposed to the enemy’s attacks.

Yes, the enemy, the one that would love for us to think he doesn’t exist. The one we tend to underestimate, allowing him to subtly and sneakily penetrate our lives. You see, while God has a plan for our lives that is for our good and for God’s Glory, the enemy too has a plan, a plan for his glory. The scary part is that the enemy’s plan may often appear to be for our good.

We take the higher paying job because money talks, but we end up in a soul destroying environment, waking up daily to power struggles and no matter how high we climb, we never feel like we are enough.

Or we make desperate decisions to make ends meet, only to find ourselves in a vicious cycle of dependence and dishonesty. We can no longer look at ourselves in the mirror and daily we die inside.

God designed us to live an abundant life filled with Joy and Peace. The recipe is simple. Follow Him!

Every day as we seek His face, as we talk to Him, turn to Him in prayer and make Him the centre of our lives, He will direct our steps.

I speak from experience, it’s been a long road to get to a point in my life where I awake every day with a song in my heart and a joy that can only come from God. Irrespective of my bank balance or external circumstances, I have learnt to walk with God and He has shown up in the most amazing ways!

There are certain benefits to being a child of the King, the only true and living God. When you begin to walk daily with what I have heard some refer to as a “God-fidence” then your whole life begins to play out differently.

Relying solely on self-confidence can be dangerous. When we place our faith in God, we begin to walk in a manner of someone who knows their worth, and is able to run to their Daddy knowing that He is always waiting, with wide open arms, no matter what!

Living in lack does not glorify God in any way, He created us to live abundant lives.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10

A great way to begin is to identify our life objective. Are we looking to get rich, or rather to walk in our purpose? Remember Matthew 6:33 and perhaps re-evaluate your life and you may be surprised at how much more God has to offer you. Ephesians 3:20

By: Laiela Paruk Dorasamy