I Know the Plans

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

There it is! The verse we love to claim. Does it make more sense when you read it in context? God was saying to His people that He has good things for them, not bad. They may not have felt that way after He told them they had seventy years of captivity to face. They may have needed a reminder!

Do you need to be reminded that God’s plans for you are good? He doesn’t want to harm you! He wants to prosper you and give you a hope and a future; a future with Him! This verse has proven so useful as we raise a teenager. Sometimes the demands we make on him seem harsh to him. We have to remind him that what we do on his behalf is for his good. Though he can’t see it now, from our more experienced perspective, what we are doing will be best in the end.

God looks at my life and yours much the same way. He sees the big picture. He knows how the story ends, and He does for us what is best. Seventy years must have been the needed number of years to get the Israelites into the best position for God to bless them. He was molding their character, preparing them for the blessings ahead! I can almost hear my God saying here to His children "I know you are afraid. I know its hard, but it's going to be okay. Everything is going to be alright. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to bless you!" Can you hear God saying that to you?

My Christian friend, how about you? How long will it take for God to get you where you need to be; in order for Him to really bless and use your life to His glory? Are you submitting to His will through the trial, or are you kicking and screaming all the way? The sooner you submit, the sooner He can move you through it.

Sometimes, at least in my life, the times of “captivity,” when I really hurt the most, are the times God uses to have the greatest impact on my spiritual maturity. I suspect the same is true of you.