Wednesday in the Word

"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 upon 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. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. [b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

Jeremiah 29:11-14

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In one week and one day I will be on my way to Belgium. I've been telling myself I wasn't going to do a countdown. Countdowns make me anxious. And nervous. And sick to my stomach. But...I almost can't help it. Especially since there is much left to do before I leave. I'm fighting the urge to list it all out here. I don't need another list. I've got about 17 of them here and there around the house!

Instead, let's focus on God's word. As I prayed about what to share for WITW, Jeremiah 29:11 popped into my head...again...as it has doing for the last several months. Each time I ask God what He wants me to read or to share...Jeremiah 29:11.  Every time.

God did this to me a few years ago. He took a very common scripture...With God all things are possible...and He pummeled me with it. At first I dismissed it. I just sort of saw it as a cute little saying rather than a promise from God. I took it for granted as being something on a t-shirt or a coffee mug rather than God-breathed words for me to live by.

I think I've been doing the same thing with Jeremiah 29:11. I see it everywhere...it's on shirts and notepads and coffee mugs. I see it...and then I dismiss it. I mean, I believe it. And I appreciate it. But I never really let it sink in.

But today, as I prayed about what to share, and He brought it to my mind again, I realized that I needed to stop and listen and pay attention. I needed to sit still and let those words sink in. And as I started to do that I began to really know that God has plans for me. He's had plans for me since before I was born. He's had plans for me since the beginning of time. When He knit me together in my mother's womb He had things for me to do here on this earth.

It's the same for all of us. God has plans for each and every one of us. We're not here to just drive around and pollute the air and use up resources. We're not here to sit around dwelling on ourselves and our situations. We're here to persevere through our struggles so that we can help others persevere through theirs. I don't always get it. And it rarely makes sense to me. But I know that it's true. And I know that it's real. So I will do my best to really let it all sink in...I will do my best to live my life as He planned it. I'm positive that His plans are better than my own. I've done things my way...and trust me, it hasn't been pretty.

He knows the plans He has for you, too...plans to prosper you and to give you hope and a future. You just have to decide if you want to follow His plans...or continue to do it your way.

xo