Jeremiah
29:11
11 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. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I
will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all
your heart.
Plans are a very important part of life.
Without a plan or course of action the costs could be much more than expected
and may take you off course in the direction you plan to go.
Planning is necessary in business, life and
simply just the daily decisions we make. As I say frequently “If you fail to
plan you have just planned to fail.” But what happens in those times that God
asks you to move in a direction without plans, without a course of action or
even without the guarantee that things will work out? I guess I can say I know
this all too well.
Here it is as a 23 year old adult thinking I
have it all together and finding the woman I felt God meant for me. At of 25 I found
myself blessed with the start of a family and not just my first child but my
only daughter to be first when the odds where against me in a dominant family
of males. God blessed me with a great job and what looked as a great life. The
plans were great.
After I have my fourth child I felt what
could be better? I have a great marriage, good job and great children and
looking to watch God’s goodness continue. Then the plans changed! Just nine
years ago I know that God called me and my family to Central Florida from the
comforts of the north, family and all other things I was used to, but why? I
still ask that same question today. Was I moving in faith or foolishness? In
just nine years I lost everything; job, home, income, marriage, family and so
on.
As I went up north to celebrate my parent’s
50th Anniversary I was plagued with the thought “Does God have a
plan for me? Have I not heard His voice? Will my children make the mark God has
for them?” As I was pondering all of this it weighed heavy on me that not only
would I be blessed with a marriage that can reach 50 years. In fact none of my
plans, no matter how good they look on paper may ever come true. What’s more I
am guaranteed the plans for a hope and a future, but not necessarily a
guarantee that it may ever happen in my life time. What a sobering reality!
After wrestling with the reality of life I
had to come full circle with the past and the direction of the present and the
future. We put a false hope in OUR plans as we cannot control the outcome of
anything. We can only have a desire of direction, a drive, a desire for the
best.
It is only God who can make our plans a
reality. This is why Jeremiah says “You will find God when you seek Him with
all your heart.” Better explained, “Once you have made a plan for your life,
submit it to God as you WILL find the best direction He has for your life.”
You cannot plant a straight line when you are
looking backwards. Nor can you avoid obstacles if you are always looking down.
So keep moving forward. Keep looking up. Keep seeking the Father’s approval to
your plans. When you do you will find those promises God has in store both now
and for generations to come.
CAL
10/07/13
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