"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."
I am one of those people who are always looking into the future. Where will I be in 10,5 or even next year? I've been that way my entire life. For most people like me, we tend to get our hopes set on something, and when it doesn't work out, we get disappointed. I remember in college walking across the stage in hopes of getting a job offer from my university and feeling the happiness of the moment sucked out me when I heard we want you to spread your wings rather than settle here, or the time when I thought I would be able to by a house when I started my job with GM but then later moved back to the area to live in an apartment. Each time, I thought I knew my own future. I am so thankful that we serve a God who tells us in his word that he knows the plans he has for us! That is right! We don't set our own plans well. We may try to, but if they don't line up with his, they are not going to work out. I call this the rubber band effect. We so often try to do our own thing or what we think is best for us, we stretch ourselves to try and fit the mold we have planned out for ourselves, but just then, God pulls us right back into his plan. You may be asking how I came up with that? Well, from my experience, if I had it my way 6 years ago, I would have been halfway across the country working for a college in the athletic department. I had the urge to go into ministry, but held that down by my own plans. Throughout those years, God slowly brought me back in line with his will for my life. I wonder how many of us miss out or push God’s will for our lives down and bury them while we try to make our plans. I am nowhere close to perfect in this area, but I have learned from my past to look for God’s will and not my earthly flesh. I encourage you to spend time in prayer daily seeking God’s perfect plan for your life, both present and future. Just like he used Peter and other disciples, he wants to use us. We must be ready to go when he says go and ready to stay when he says stay.
I am one of those people who are always looking into the future. Where will I be in 10,5 or even next year? I've been that way my entire life. For most people like me, we tend to get our hopes set on something, and when it doesn't work out, we get disappointed. I remember in college walking across the stage in hopes of getting a job offer from my university and feeling the happiness of the moment sucked out me when I heard we want you to spread your wings rather than settle here, or the time when I thought I would be able to by a house when I started my job with GM but then later moved back to the area to live in an apartment. Each time, I thought I knew my own future. I am so thankful that we serve a God who tells us in his word that he knows the plans he has for us! That is right! We don't set our own plans well. We may try to, but if they don't line up with his, they are not going to work out. I call this the rubber band effect. We so often try to do our own thing or what we think is best for us, we stretch ourselves to try and fit the mold we have planned out for ourselves, but just then, God pulls us right back into his plan. You may be asking how I came up with that? Well, from my experience, if I had it my way 6 years ago, I would have been halfway across the country working for a college in the athletic department. I had the urge to go into ministry, but held that down by my own plans. Throughout those years, God slowly brought me back in line with his will for my life. I wonder how many of us miss out or push God’s will for our lives down and bury them while we try to make our plans. I am nowhere close to perfect in this area, but I have learned from my past to look for God’s will and not my earthly flesh. I encourage you to spend time in prayer daily seeking God’s perfect plan for your life, both present and future. Just like he used Peter and other disciples, he wants to use us. We must be ready to go when he says go and ready to stay when he says stay.
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