Baba says, “Human beings want one thing and something else happens. The Father has His own plan and human beings have their own plans.“

I, the soul, have a destiny and only God can help me reach it. When I commit myself to Him, then He is in control of every aspect of my life, down to the smallest details. He lines up the right people to come across my path, he arranges for the right breaks. When God has something in His plan, no human being or event can cancel it or change it. Sometimes, I think: I’ve had so many setbacks, have made so many mistakes in my life, so many poor choices, there’s no way I can ever get to my destiny. Or sometimes, it’s not what I’ve done but perhaps I didn’t have a good upbringing, or my family didn’t have enough resources to give me a good education, or I have an illness and so I think that the circumstances are against me. How could I possibly get to my destiny!?

But here’s the thing: No human being, the self included, or event or circumstance is powerful enough to stop God’s plan for my life. No mistake I’ve made is a surprise to my Father and no bad habit is big enough that He cannot help me overcome it. When I have an honest heart that is turned toward God, when I have accepted Him as my Father and made myself belong to Him as His child, He can make the impossible possible. The key is faith- that God is my Father and that He is the one sustaining, teaching and guiding me.

If I were to reflect back on my own life experiences I’d see how I was just at the right place at the right time for that big break, how that accident that should have taken my life didn’t, how despite the financial crisis, somehow all my family’s needs were met…the list goes on and on. There have been cases where severe physical or emotional pain has driven people to think of running away or taking their own life but instead they had someone come to them and give them an uplifting message of hope that served as an injection to the soul or someone provided much needed support when they least expected it. Coincidence? luck? No, it is the hand of the Father protecting me. Those people have since gone on to live long, healthy, whole lives. Similarly, people have overcome illnesses that have baffled doctors. The bottom-line: I am not powerful enough to stop God’s plan. If it’s not my time to go, I’m not going to go.

Yes, there will be situations, circumstances, people, sanskars that come my way but they cannot stop me from getting to my destiny; on the contrary, they are required in order for me to be able to get to my destiny. Those bad breaks, those closed doors, cancelations, delays- they are all part of the plan. I think that it’s just the good breaks, the promotions, the good relationships that are part of God’s plan but that’s not the case. His plan also includes the disappointments, and missed opportunities and the people who try to stop me. Without that happening, I couldn’t reach my destiny. These things are required to help me see how God helps me through them, to increase my faith in Him, to build up my character, to make me emotionally strong. I just have to trust God’s process. A lot of times, these things don’t make sense and the temptation is to get into the circular loop of questioning and analyzing: ‘why?’, ‘what?”, ‘how?” but when I have faith in who is in-charge of my life and in the drama, then these questions go away and I simply continue to have faith and move forward. I just continue to do the right thing even when it’s hard, keep a good attitude and soon enough, I see things turn around.

When I don’t get something I worked really hard for, the temptation is to feel disappointed and think: “Has God forgotten about me? I did everything right and sincerely. So how come I didn’t get the project/promotion/opportunity?”. I wonder why God didn’t help me win something that is clearly good for me? But here’s the thing: God’s plan is always bigger and better than my plan. I don’t see the full path to my destiny, only He does. I think I have to go left but He knows of the roadblocks ahead that I don’t yet see and so He asks me to turn right. To heed His plan for my life and take the turn is to save valuable time instead of finding out the hard way later on. And that’s the beauty of this partnership: I don’t need to be able to see the whole path, I just need faith in the One who can. When I accept Him as my Guide, He will guide me down the best path for my life.

And His path is never a straight line. There are curves, detours, U-turns and shortcuts. Sometimes, it feels like I take one step forward only to take three back. Other times, I seem to have rocketed forward when I least expected it or thought I deserved it. All I need to know and believe deeply in my bones is that He knows what He is doing. He is strategically directing my steps; I just need to commit to Him. My commitment to Him is the help I give Him. When I become the child and follow His directions, I offer Him my co-operation. When I have unshakeable faith in Him, despite what the circumstances might look like, when I stay put, I show Him my commitment. It is my faith that activates God’s powers to do wonders in my life. Let me not rely on what I see or hear, let me learn to live based on the faith in who I am and Whose I am.

If I will have this attitude of faith, and make God my one Strength and one Support, I will come into my destiny moments. I will see more and more magical moments in my life. I will see Him do the impossible and propel me to new heights, I will see God’s purpose for my life come to fruition. I will see myself overcome every obstacle, defeat every attack of Maya and become everything that God knows I can be.