His Plans Shall Stand
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Jeremiah 29:11-13
11. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13. You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart,
Isaiah 14:24
The Lord of hosts has sworn: "As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,
This has always been an “area of challenge” for me! I really like to be in charge—of everything!! Those who know me well will not be the least bit surprised to hear this! Those who don’t . . . well you may have figured it out from past postings. But I really do have this major “control” issue. And it is exhausting!
The thing is, when I do “let go and let God” He does such a great job! His plans are far more expansive and wonderful and all-encompassing and every other superlative you can think of – than are mine! Because I am limited by my human understanding, and comprehension. Even our imaginations are limited and small compared to God’s view of time and space and past and future. He sees beyond the now and his future extends to a time past our physical bodies and on into eternity with Him.
With the kind of assurance God offers man in Isaiah, why do we worry? Why do we rush around this world trying to be and do what man determines we should be and do? Why don’t we just be still more often and go to God? Why don’t we ask Him to reveal to us His wonderful plans for us and for our future? I guess our humanness includes both vanity and lack of self-esteem. Why would God care about me enough to even bother? How do I know God has specific plans for me? Does it really matter what I choose to do with my life? Does it really make a difference if I pray before each decision? That seems like it takes a lot of time and energy.
But I have found that what takes more time and energy is “fixing” the situations I cause by my lack of seeking direction and guidance! By not relying on God and His plans, I often make a mess of things. Or at least I create situations that require lots of time and energy that I might not have needed to expend if I had just let God be in charge! Maybe this is a confession that only applies to me. . . Maybe you don’t do that.
I can also testify that when I hear God’s directions and discern His plans, they are indeed wonderful! They are for my benefit—for my good. They are to prosper me—in heavenly currency! But the good news here is that God is so good, that even when we work to defer or delay His plans, He intercedes and turns our poor decisions, our mistakes and our really big messes into learning experiences, opportunities for faith-building, a chance to learn that He knows best, but that He is also merciful and loving.
I am so grateful to worship a God who plans good for me; who loves me enough to let me rebel, and then return to Him; who cares enough to turn even my bad choices into something useful. I am so awed and amazed that in spite of thousands of years of man attempting to “mess up” God’s world, the earth still turns and the sun still shines and the stars still twinkle in the sky over vast oceans that churn up waves to crash on the shore.
God is so good! And He is worthy of our thanks and our praise! His plans are awesome beyond imagining, because His love is beyond comprehension or explanation. I need that kind of God! The world needs that kind of God. If every politician and every key decision-maker in this world would “go to God” first and last, what would our world be like? Think about it! Since I can’t make that happen, I’m going to strive to at least accomplish that in my own life. That’s something I CAN control!
I hope you spend today going to God for guidance, direction and understanding of the wonderful plans He has to prosper you.
Mary
