God's Plan

 This week the thing I'm most thankful for is that God has a plan for my life. Please believe me when I tell you that is not a statement that I take lightly, nor is it an easy one for me to say. There are days that I cannot even pretend to understand why He allows things to happen or why He doesn't cause other things to occur. There are prayers that go unanswered, sometimes I pray something that I'm sure will be granted and instead He says no. Other times there are prayers that go years and years before they come to fruition. And there's some that He answers in a way that I would never expect or even want. 

Jeremiah 29:11 is probably one of the most quoted verses today. And I can understand why, after all the words are very inspiring.

'"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."'

It sounds wonderful. Until you look at the context. This isn't just a wishy-washy, 'hey I want you all to be happy' type of verse. It so much more serious. Jeremiah is in middle of telling the people that the Babylonians will conquer their land and drag them all off into captivity. And not just them but their children and everyone they love. These Babylonians, the people's enemies, will take them away from everything they know and hold dear. Yet with that dire prophecy hanging over them Jeremiah also gives them this amazing promise from God. The prophet tells them that God will not abandon them in Babylon and He will not forget them. After 70 years God will bring them back. 

Sometimes I'll be praying something for a few months and then I get discouraged so I give up. I can't imagine heading into 70 YEARS of exile away from my home and trying to cling to this prophecy, can you? On the other hand, isn't this the same verse we cling to every time we face something difficult?

I do believe that this verse applies to us. God does know the plans that He has for each of us. And in Romans 8:28 Paul says, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." 

So does God have plans for good? For our future if we are His children? Yes, of course! Does that make it easy believing in His plan? Not so much. However it does give me reason to be incredibly thankful that He has a plan for my life. It's probably not the plan that I expect, and maybe not the one I would hope for. It will also be far better then I can dream. 

When life gets troubled and things are hard let this be what we remember; God has a plan for our lives, it's a plan for good. He plans to give us hope and a future. That's what I'm incredibly thankful for this week.