God Has a Plan for Your Life: The Discovery that Makes All the Difference Paperback – June 8, 2008

I ordered Dr. Stanley's book because of the title. I had just gone through a three-year long, very un-amicable divorce after a 20 year marriage and was trying to recover from much pain and doubt and confusion, because 20 years ago, I thought I married my God-centered, life partner. ( We were both very involved in the Christian Church, so this divorce felt like the rug had been pulled out from under.) I was skeptical of God and Dr.Stanley to say the least. I had only heard Dr. Stanley a few times on the radio, was not a fan per se, but was looking for ANYTHING that would help me make sense of things.I can tell you this:1) This is a short book of ten chapters, 146 pages; not highly theological and easy to read.2) This book gave me strength to keep going.I took it slow, carried it in my bag, read it while waiting for the kids. Sometimes I read it at night before bed because it was so soothing.Some are really angry at God because of their divorce, and I can't say I blame them. As for me I felt just felt hurt, crushed, "what now?" kind of feelings. On page one, Dr. Stanley writes, "We can know the plans He has for us."I was doubtful. Been there, done that. The author goes on to talk about what we can depend on from Christ. Ok...In the following chapters, the compelling thing about this read is how the author answers the questions, the doubts, the "yeah, buts" I had and lays each one to rest with reassurance and a short Scripture passage. I had to sit with each "answer" for a while. I found if I was "argumentative" internally with the author, it didn't serve me any good. Instead, I decided to let go and open my heart to whatever Dr. Stanley had to say about the God I thought I knew. Sometimes my "argument" was answered later on in the book (or sometimes through a few small events in my daily life) and I began to understand a little better about God's Plan for me, for humanity. I began to feel some relief, got some sleep.Things happen. Sometimes we have control over them, sometimes we don't. I still have a long way to go. I have blessings to work with, but I had to read this book to remember what they were. I was like the man who becomes blind via an unforeseen course of events. The man rails at God for making him blind -- how could this happen? But the man fails to "see" that God still loves and cares and has a plan. The man can now "hear" the birds, the rain, the voice of his child, the symphony with exquisite detail and accuracy. Was the man meant to hear these before? Yes. Would the man choose not to have lost his sight? Of course. But, given the circumstances, how would this man like to live out the rest of his days?And how would I like to live out the rest of my days? Trusting in the God who made the Universe that all is well and all will be well, and believing that God has a plan for my life too. Thanks, Dr. Stanley.

I came home been on the road for 8 weeks pushing hard went to bed at 8:30 found my self at 9:30 a hr later being lifted on to the cat scan machine people poking and prodding asking questions had no idea how i got there. Experienced a seizure need less to say by mid day the next day they released me saying we cannot find anything wrong. My life’s plans have been changed. This week as i finished this book the timing of it in my life and my wife’s is truly God Ordained. I know Gods plan and purpose I don’t know what and who is in store it do’s ent matter because at 71 yrs old i have a lot of life to live and fulfill i am seeing prayers i have prayed being fulfilled in ways i never expected and seeing people thru the eyes of Jesus. Encourage you to read this writing be prepared to surrender and allow your will to be Christ centered it will be fulfilled.

Easy to read and packed with power. Charles Stanley gives us hope, and lets the reader know that God has purpose and plan for every life. No one is so damaged that God can’t use them, if they just give in to God’s salvation.

Great. book for anyone searching for their purpose and God’s will for their life! An easy read but not overly simplistic.

I thought this was a very good book in guiding the reader to finding God's will for their life by first explaining that it is essential they be surrendered to God and have given him complete control of all areas of their life. In order to hear his direction, they must also have knowledge of and continue to study his word.

Dr. Charles Stanley is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest biblical theologians of our time. Although I had always been a distant admirer of Dr. Stanley and his teachings from my infrequent viewings of his telecast on TBN, I began fully listening to his teachings earlier this year. Having thoroughly enjoyed his audio messages and the soundness of the doctrines he espouses, I decided to buy some of his books, of which "God Has a Plan for Your Life" was the first I read.I must say, this book is an absolute knockout. I am an appreciator of people who can think about the Word of God and develop points that are simple yet profound, and this book is replete with examples of that. I especially enjoyed Dr. Stanley's explanation of how God's will is defined and how God reveals his will to his children. You will be provoked to think deeply by reading this book, but not because it is packed with pointless explanations of Greek vocabulary from the second century.Everything in this book has biblical documentation to support it, and I think this is representative of the fact that Dr. Stanley is an incredibly well-educated man, so he speaks and writes with a knowledge that can only come from years of devoted scholarship to the Word of God. Dr. Stanley is truly the walking fulfillment of 2 Timothy 2:15.Unfortunately, when you read some other books from people who are preachers without the years of biblical study, you notice that it is either their theology is off, or they simply don't have enough scriptural knowledge to document how what they are writing directly relates to the scripture. Of course, God can use anybody to speak his word, but I prefer, and am much more comfortable with, being taught by someone who is a biblical scholar of the spiritual heft of Dr. Stanley.If you think this book is just going to simplistically tell you to read the Word and pray in order to ascertain the will of God for your life, you're wrong. Although it does say that, it gives you so much more information and spiritual food for thought on the issue of God's will.I am already hooked on the audio messages of Dr. Stanley the preacher; however, after reading this book, I am officially a fan of Dr. Stanley the writer. I'll begin on Dr. Stanley's New York Times Bestseller, Finding Peace, tomorrow.

Would love any book written by Dr. Charles Stanley.