Tuesday, June 1, 2010

He Plans Good Things For Me

"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."

-- Jeremiah 29:11

God has a way about Him. And He knows me really, really well. So when He planted a verse in my heart last week, He didn't just leave it there for me to figure out. No. He thrust the verse before me not once, not twice, but three times in three separate readings within a few minutes. You just read the verse.

I'm one who wants Him to show me. Now. Especially now. The other day I was ready to throw in the towel. I was done. It was someone else's turn. I wanted a life again (solitude and my own kitchen beckoned me) and I wanted a job with a real paycheck (similar to the ones I used to get on a regular basis). I was tired and I wanted out.

It took fewer than 90 minutes for God to show me why I can't have what I want right now. A calf loose from a gate left open, a fertilizer trailer jack left down as it headed up the driveway, and an air filter inserted wrong that had to be reversed. Simple things in a typical day that is my life.

"For I know the plans I have for you..."

I know He plans great things for my future. I know that. I hear His voice saying "trust Me" and I want to so badly. It's just difficult to see that path to a wonderful future when the forest of responsibility that surrounds me is so thick.

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you"

I am not alone. I visited recently with a dear friend. Last year she quit a job she'd grown to hate and now cares for her grandchild. That will change one day when the military calls her daughter's family away.
She looks out before her and sees endless possibilities. Which to choose? And how do you know where God is calling you to go? He wants to prosper her and not harm her. She wants to do His will. But where is the sign that tells her which way to go?
"plans to give you hope and a future"

God doesn't tell me His plans too far in advance. He knows I'm a coward. Had I known what problems I would face, I wouldn't be here now. I would still be in my own sunny world by the ocean. But this difficult journey I did not knowingly choose has led me closer to Him than I ever could have been. I know that was the point. I have come to rely on Him because, frankly, He's all I have that I truly can count on.

I do trust Him. It's me I don't trust. I bumble along down this uneven path called life, looking for road signs that sometimes aren't too clear. Hope fills me once again. He has plans for me. Good plans. And one day, when the time is right and that far off future is the present, I'll know what He has prepared for me.