” 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 (NIV)
If God has a perfect plan for us that includes hope and a future why would we insist on our own plans and ways?
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Yes, and….don’t forget Prosperity!!!!that you mentioned above, whether physical or spiritual…it’s ALL good. Many of us don’t or won’t take the time to find out WHAT plans the Lord has for us personally even though it could save us a bunch of heartache, loss, failure or looking like a fool, just to mention a few.
The WORD is God’s plan for our lives and if we followed the wisdom of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Father God’s 10 Commandments, the lessons in Proverbs and Jesus’ parables and the admonitions in the Epistles of Paul, Peter, Jude, James and John, we would see more clearly God’s plan for our lives. But when it concerns choosing between one thing or another; or what action a family or an individual should take in a myriad of situations, it is imperative to consult the Holy Spirit for He has the Plan and Purpose for us in this (and any) situation. But we have to ASK and SEEK and KNOCK and then be quiet and wait and listen. Sometimes that takes time and focus and purpose. Therein lies the rub.
Some of us would rather mess up and repent and pay the penalty for head-strong, narcissistic decisions than take the time to wait For the LORD’S plan.
Isaiah 40:31
Maybe because in our limited view we don’t see God moving on our mind’s timetable or pattern and we get anxious and think we have to do something. Just like in Genesis 16…God had a plan to prosper Sara, Abraham’s wife, and give her a hope and future by giving her a child to be an heir of Abraham. But when she saw the mountain in her life of no children, she took things in her own hands and gave her maid, Hagar, to Abraham to produce a heir. But this son wasn’t the heir God planned.
God sees the big picture and the details of how to weave it and we don’t. That’s where trust and faith and patience has to come in.
I think Jer. 29:11 is an encouraging scripture to cling to to help build waiting and trust and to help us avoid jumping the gun.
Thanks Sara, verse, Isaiah 40:31, is a weighted anchor to keep our boats from being carried away also.
According to my Bible notes from the New Application Bible it says:
We’re all encouraged by a leader who stirs us to move ahead, someone who believes we can do the task he has given and who will be with us all the way. God is that kind of leader. He knows the future, and his plans for us are good and full of hope. As long as God, who knows the future, provides our agenda and goes with us as we fulfill his mission, we can have boundless hope. This does not mean that we will be spared pain, suffering, or hardship, but that God will see us through to a glorious conclusion.
These notes go with the Isaiah 40:31
Notes: Trusting in the Lord is the patient expectation that God will fulfill his promises in his Word and strengthen us to rise above life’s difficulties….
“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise…”
(2 Peter 3:9, NIV)
Part of that wonderful old hymn TRUST & OBEY goes….
“What He says we will do
Where He sends we will go
Never fear but just Trust & Obey.”
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 2Peter 1:4
The only stipulations to receiving those promises are obedience & trust.
I teach a class on Wednesday night at church. Last night the lesson was titled trust. We discussed how hard it is to trust man. We know in our hearts that we can’t “trust” our future to men or women. We sit back and watch evil men and women attempting to mold our future. With evil in their hearts, they are cursing “our future”. If we put our trust in men alone, we would have no hope, no future. How can we put our future in another “flawed humans” hands. How can we trust our own plans, if we came up with these plans without God. We don’t know the future and what will happen, only God knows. We must put our total trust in the Lord, our God, our Hope, our Future. We must build a foundation of faith and trust in the Lord so strong that not even Satan can shack it. We must remember, that the world doesn’t hold our future: only the one who died for the world’s sins holds our future. The Lord Jesus Christ is our only future. So let us put the words ” IN GOD WE TRUST ” back on our hearts and as MG quoted…….NEVER FEAR BUT JUST TRUST AND OBEY……….
Does this work for our men and women in war? Many are Christians and many are dying? Family members are hurting.
The following happened to a friend on Wednesday. Please pray they will catch this guy and many others like him. Think about this, the guy escaped the police. Everyday this is happening. We need to up our prayer for our Nation and one another, I think….
“Coming home from work today, I was stopped at a red light when a guy in an old Lincoln rear ended me. He was on his cell phone and could not stop in time. I got out to exchange info, but he took off. Three witnesses to the incident helped me with the guy’s license plate. An suv driven by an undercover cop was there and immediately chased the guy, but when they reached his car he ran off and left the car. The cop later told me that the license and the car did not match. Probably stolen. Not a good situation. Probably about $5,000 damage to my car. Hope they will catch the bad guy soon.”
Note: I heard the guy drove around the traffic and never got off his cell. But, thank God no injuries to friend. Thank You Holy Lord.
Lord, please be with Sara’s friend.
Lord we look You for Justice in this situation. The Lord of all knows and He will do right by His children who love and serve Him. Thank God there were no injuries.
In Moody Today it says,” Scripture tells us that “faith is being SURE of what we hope for and do not yet have, and ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1)
“We sometimes speak of faith in God as if it were some kind of RISK, when in fact it is the surest confidence there is! He will do what He says. He is in control. That’s one reason Jesus compared FAITH to a mustard see in His Kingdom, which though one of the smallest seeds, grows into one of the largest in the ‘garden’.”
I Jesus never fails us. What satan means for evil, God can turn to the good for those who trust and obey.
I pray they will catch this criminal and others like him.
I pray also for our soldiers and their families for protecttion during these perilous times.
“O Lord, rescue me from evil people.
Protect me from those who are violent,
those who plot evil in their hearts
and stir up trouble all day long.”(Psalm 140:vs 1-2 NLT)
“Lord, do not let evil people have their way.
Do not let their evil schemes succeed,
or they will become proud.” (Psalm 140:vs 8 NLT)
“If God has a perfect plan for us that includes hope and a future why would we insist on our own plans and ways?” Interesting question, Sara.
Here is a list of what I think could be possible answers?
1) no trust in God
2) self-centered
3) trust in human flesh only
4) my son, Nathaniel said, “you think your plans are better for you, then God’s plans
I sure am sorry to hear about your accident, Sara. I do hope justice is brought to the man that rear-ended you, and took off.
I am with Nathaniel.
Thanks, Needles, it happened to a family friend. We still hope for the same, justice.
Proverbs 1…”23 If you had responded to my rebuke,
I would have poured out my heart to you
and made my thoughts known to you.
24 But since you rejected me when I called
and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25 since you ignored all my advice
and would not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you-
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me.
29 Since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD,
30 since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Gee, wonder who falls in this category? People who do things their own way?
Rebuke at its origin is often strong and sometimes wounding but if it is heeded and taken seriously it brings forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
The proverb above brings to mind a scenerio of attempting to train an ‘unbroken’ horse (one who has not been ridden or schooled before). A pre-requisite for breaking/riding is to get the horse to accept a bit in its mouth so that they can be turned and pointed in the right direction for safety, success ond usefulness. A stubborn, hard-headed horse will spit the bit out of its mouth. Can’t do much with them when they do that.
“When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ” James 3:3
“Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” Psalm 32:9
28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me.” This particular part of the scripture interest me since God says, they may call to me but I will not answer…..
Yet, Psalm gives me another thought….”My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help”
(Psalm 56:9, NLT)
Here are the footnotes for Proverbs 1:23-28. “God is more than willing to pour out his heart and make known his thoughts to us. To receive his advice, we must be willing to listen, refusing to let pride stand in our way. Pride is thinking more highly of our own wisdom and desires than of God’s. If we think we know better than God or feel we have no need of God’s direction, we have fallen into foolish and disastrous pride.”
Sara, verse 28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me.” Sounds like there is a limit to how much our God will allow us to ignore Him.