Jeremiah 29:11 - "'For I know the plans that I have for
you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a
future and a hope.'"
This is probably one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. I often become anxious about the future, about not knowing what to do or where to go, what God wants to do with my life. And often when I'm talking to God about these things and confessing my confusion and lack of knowledge to Him, He brings this verse to my mind. "'For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'" What a comfort to know that God knows. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that God holds the future. And not only does He know what the future holds, but He actually has a plan specifically for me, and specifically for you. I've said before that God is a personal God, and He is. "God so loved the world", that's true, but He also loves you individually, and He has a plan specifically for you. Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. You may be at a loss as to why some certain thing is happening in your life right now, but God is not alarmed about it. He's not anxious. He knows the plans He has for you and He will surely bring them to pass. Isaiah 46:9-11 says - "Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it." God will certainly accomplish His plans for your life. God is completely sovereign, and man is completely responsible for every choice he makes. We have an independent will and the ability to make choices in our lives, but in the wonder of God's sovereignty and foreknowledge He still accomplishes His purposes and His plans in our lives. That's beyond understanding, but we don't need to understand it to appreciate it. Proverbs 20:24 says - "Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way?"
And Jeremiah 10:23 says - "I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps." In Proverbs 16:9 we're told that - "The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." We may be at a loss sometimes as to what we should do, but we can be confident that when we acknowledge Him, He will lead us. Psalm 25:12 says - "Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose." It's not always clear to us, but we can take comfort in the fact that though we don't always know God's plan for us or why He has led us to a particular place or situation in our lives, He does. He knows the plans that He has for us. He knows exactly why He has brought us into the circumstances in which we find ourselves right now, and He knows what He's going to accomplish through them. Don't rest in your own knowledge or understanding, rest in the fact that God knows the plans He has for you.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
This is probably one of my favorite verses in all of the Bible. I often become anxious about the future, about not knowing what to do or where to go, what God wants to do with my life. And often when I'm talking to God about these things and confessing my confusion and lack of knowledge to Him, He brings this verse to my mind. "'For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'" What a comfort to know that God knows. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know that God holds the future. And not only does He know what the future holds, but He actually has a plan specifically for me, and specifically for you. I've said before that God is a personal God, and He is. "God so loved the world", that's true, but He also loves you individually, and He has a plan specifically for you. Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. You may be at a loss as to why some certain thing is happening in your life right now, but God is not alarmed about it. He's not anxious. He knows the plans He has for you and He will surely bring them to pass. Isaiah 46:9-11 says - "Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it." God will certainly accomplish His plans for your life. God is completely sovereign, and man is completely responsible for every choice he makes. We have an independent will and the ability to make choices in our lives, but in the wonder of God's sovereignty and foreknowledge He still accomplishes His purposes and His plans in our lives. That's beyond understanding, but we don't need to understand it to appreciate it. Proverbs 20:24 says - "Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord, how then can man understand his way?"
And Jeremiah 10:23 says - "I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps." In Proverbs 16:9 we're told that - "The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." We may be at a loss sometimes as to what we should do, but we can be confident that when we acknowledge Him, He will lead us. Psalm 25:12 says - "Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose." It's not always clear to us, but we can take comfort in the fact that though we don't always know God's plan for us or why He has led us to a particular place or situation in our lives, He does. He knows the plans that He has for us. He knows exactly why He has brought us into the circumstances in which we find ourselves right now, and He knows what He's going to accomplish through them. Don't rest in your own knowledge or understanding, rest in the fact that God knows the plans He has for you.
Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
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