The specifics of His plan for each one of us will unfold as we continue to surrender to God daily. We can be sure of this: God wants to develop us so we become more like Jesus in our character. Romans 8:29 says, "For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters."
But how does this change happen? How do we become more like Jesus in our character? We briefly looked at a passage in Romans a couple of days ago. Let's look at it more closely.
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:2-5
The verses here tell us what produces Christ-like character. This change of character starts when we believe, to our very core, that we are loved by God. When we believe this truth, we realize problems and trials aren't experienced for nothing. Instead, they produce endurance which produces strength of character. Strength of character produces joyful, confident hope. This isn't the same as a life of comfort, but your comfort isn't God's goal for your life. Changing you into a person of great character—someone who is spiritually like His Son—is His plan for your life.
In the movie, Evan Almighty, Morgan Freeman, who plays God, speaks to Evan's wife, Joan. Joan's prayer is that her family would grow closer together, but now her husband has seemingly gone off the deep-end and is building an ark, creating chaos for them all. God shows up as a waiter where she's having breakfast.
After she pours out her heart to him, the "waiter" says, "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"
The truth is that difficult times come to us all. Guaranteed. But God can use these opportunities to guide us and mold us into the people He wants us to be. The key is in how we respond to the circumstances in which He has placed us. The character transformation process hinges on our obedience.
Obedience can be defined as courageous dependence moving into action. It is seeking His will through praying, reading the Bible and receiving wise counsel of believing friends, then moving forward in the direction God is leading. It is important to note, you cannot do this in your own power. We have been given the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit who fills us with His strength. He helps us move through the valleys of our lives in obedience to God, which transforms our character to be more like Christ.
As we obey God in this way, we begin to not only see His power at work in our circumstances; we also begin to desire His will for our lives. Our minds are being constantly transformed and we are more easily able to recognize God's will for us.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
Being transformed to be like Christ is a life-long process. Day by day, as we surrender ourselves to Christ, we overcome obstacles and become more mature in our faith and our character. Undoubtedly, new trials will surface, but we will face them better prepared because of our courageous dependence on Jesus. As we obey, we can have confidence we are in the center of His will for us—in the palm of His hand.