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.
My Pastor’s favorite verse. God Bless you Skip and Gale. You continue to preach God’s Word right on track, while at the same time the church as a whole in this country is not.
As humans we seem to have our eyes on the present. The future is as long as I am alive on this earth. God sees you as an eternal being. Your future is continuous. If you’re one of His children that are seeking Him, you have a promise above. The plan the Lord has for us started before we even knew of our own existence and goes on forever.
That’s powerful. That means He is looking over us right now and if we choose his sacrifice and salvation, forever and ever.
We can’t get hung up on our wants. Why? As sinful creatures, our wants our more than likely not the same as the plan God has for us.
I can tell you the more I concentrate on the Lord and His Word, the more I know He has plans for me. I know by reading the Word that this life isn’t about me, it’s about the Lord and what we can do to be servants.
Challenging? Difficult? It sure is for me in some areas more than others. The more I study the word of God the more lacking I realize I am. However, the strength comes from the Lord. Any strength we can muster needs to be put into Him and then allow Him to work through us.
Worldly prosperity has proven to be a hindrance for most people in their life with the Lord. Let’s focus on our relationship with the Lord and let the prosperity stem from that. No one will harm us even on this earth unless the Lord has a plan and says it’s okay. If He says it’s okay and you’re living for Him, then He has you taken care of ultimately. One will be rewarded for suffering in His name on this earth. One example is the martyr’s crown. Paul also speaks on being rewarded for his suffering in the Lord.
I can tell you that our own selfish ambitions are not part of God’s plan. I don’t think Paul, the disciples, and the early church had selfish ambitions and if they did, we’d all be in trouble.
We have a hope and a future thanks to our Lord.