• God Was Building Someone I Didn't Have In Mind

  Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 18, 2026 (message contributor)

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  Scripture:  Psalms 16:11, Proverbs 16:9

  Tags:  God's Plan, Calling

  Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I've got an idea of the kind of person that I want to be. Anyone else? In fact, that's probably one of the reasons that I'm so hard on myself sometimes. One of the reasons that I may not like me, at times, maybe as much as I should, is because I want to be the kind of person that I've just arbitrarily come up with in my mind.

But what if the Lord is like, "Listen, I'm going to turn you into someone different than that person that you had in mind."

At one point in my life, I had a thought that I was going to be a dentist. Then I shadowed my dad one summer. Nope. Not for me. Then I was convinced that I was going to be a musician. Then an artist. Then a graphic designer. Then a web developer. Then a project manager. Every single one of those decisions came with their own ideas of the kind of person that I wanted to be. With their own goals that I had set to make me into that person. And all the while, God was turning me into someone different than that person that I had in mind.

And the amazing thing is that every single one of those things, I still get to use on a regular basis.

The Lord may be turning you into a different person than that guy or girl you had in mind. And you know what, He might use joy and sorrow to do it. In fact, I'd argue that He probably will. And there'll be pressure on you to conform you into His image, and there'll be blessings throughout all of that, with His presence, with that sanctification.

Proverbs 16:9 puts it plainly: "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." I had a lot of plans. God had a lot of steps. And looking back, I wouldn't trade His steps for any of my plans.

Psalm 16:11 says, "You make known to me the path of life." Not a path. The path. God hasn't abandoned us to figure this thing out. He hasn't said, "Hey, just stumble about, as long as you're moving in a direction maybe you'll figure it out. Good luck! Really. You'll need it." God hasn't said what culture loves to say. He hasn't said, "Find the path that works for you."

He says there is the path, and that path is the one that leads to life. And He has made it known. That's the stunning thing. You don't have to figure it out. You just have to trust the One who already knows where it goes.