His Plans
Let us suppose for a moment that I am a very powerful, wealthy, influential person. Let us also suppose that you have a great need that you cannot possibly take care of. You have done all you know to do; asked everyone you know to help and still you cannot save yourself. I hear of your need and call you to come and visit me. When you arrive, I tell you that it is within my power to help you. You have nothing to worry about or fear. I have a plan that will not only meet your need but prosper you above anything you can imagine. I ask only that you trust me. Imagine your relief. You know that I am well able to do all that I have promised. My reputation is such that you are confident I will do all that I have promised to do for you. You put your trust in me – and you go on with your life knowing that all will be well. In fact, you are so sure that everything will be taken care of, that as time passes you spend less and less time with me. Your life is very busy and there just isn’t the time. Eventually there is no communication and no relationship. Imagine how I would feel.
In recent years, I have walked through some very difficult circumstances. During that time I have had to learn the lesson of surrender – of fully trusting that my Heavenly Father would work all things together for good. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change these circumstances in my own power; nothing anyone else can do. It has been a difficult lesson to learn, this surrendering of all that is most precious to me, but I am learning. The eleventh verse of Jeremiah 29 has been one that I have clung to : “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.” I have surrendered my circumstances to the only One who can give us a future and a hope.
Yesterday, in my Bible study, I read the verses that follow that one:
“Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
The words of those verses pierced my heart. There is something more the Father wants to do. He wants to draw me closer to Him, to have a relationship that grows deeper with the passing of time. The God who created all that exists, who holds the worlds in His hands calls me to come and talk to Him, and He promises to listen. He wants me seek after Him with all my heart.
Of course I have always known that, but somehow it is easier to run to Him in the midst of overwhelming circumstances than to maintain the deepening, steady relationship He desires. It is all too easy for me to set that aside once my difficulties have been resolved. Time with the Father gets pushed back in the midst of a busy life filled with things I feel I must get done – or, sadly, with things I’d rather do.
Patiently, lovingly He waits – calling me to come. Yes, He has a perfect plan for my welfare, but I believe that includes a seeking after Him. I pray that He will cause me to hunger and thirst after Him, to love Him more every day, to look forward to spending time in His presence just as He looks forward to spending time with me. What a miraculous privilege. The Holy, Righteous God longs to spend time with me. How can I stay away?
Praise Him for loving us so much, for creating us and pursuing us with a love we cannot fathom. I’m so humbled by His love for us, for me!
In HIS grip,
Sherry
ps, please enter me!
Awesome, bless you.
That is so right and so convicting. Thank you for this post. All the more, in our busy lives should we come to Him so we will be in the right frame of mind when the bumps arise! Help me Lord to be faithful.
Please “Enter Me”
I pray I will seek him at all times, not just the tough times when I think he is most needed. I know I always need him. Thanks for your words.
Enter me, thank you.
Linda, I think you have hit the nail right on the head. When all is well, we most likely ‘forget’ to spend time with Him. We sometimes only seek His presence when life doesn’t go well…
Thank you so much for sharing your heart and the reminder that He is always waiting for us to spend time with Him.
“filled with things I feel I must get done – or, sadly, with things I’d rather do.”
that pierced my heart… thank you for the frank words to help me remember that He has given me all the time that I need to spend with Him, I just merely need to choose to do so… how much sweeter is my day when I spend the time He’s designated for “our time” with Him instead of stealing it to use for my own plans. beautiful!
also, please enter me!
Jeremiah 29:11 and following have been favorites of mine during these last 5 years or so. My husband was a pastor-in-training at Seminary– we had just had our fifth child- our only car was totaled- and then he was diagnosed with cancer– (I know- sounds like a sad country song!) We presumed on God’s plan- thinking that Donald would be healed– I mean– afterall– we were in Seminary– we had given up good jobs– this was just “bonus” training– right??? Four months after he was given the “cancer-free” thumbs up– The doctors told us–they had made a mistake. In that moment– Donald’s cancer moved from God’s permissive will— to God’s ACTIVE will. Even now- as a young widow– I find great comfort and peace in fully turning my heart toward God- and intentionally living each moment for Him– thank you for bringing fresh insight to this most treasured passage Linda!
Blessings,
Julia
ps please “enter me!”
I love those verses following the ever-so-popular “For I know the plans I have for you…”. The key is in surrender, isn’t it? Once we TRULY surrender our own agendas and plans for our lives, God will reveal to us where He wants us to go. He will show us His plans. But He requires that wholehearted surrender. Good lesson. 🙂
I am always amazed at how timely your devotions are for my life!
I too just recently went through a challenging time where at the end of my rope, and ready to let go, I sought the LORD yet one more time. In His mercy for me and HIS lovingkindness HE responded to my cry for help with “Just one more time, Chondra, Trust me one more time & see what I will do”. I still hear that still small voice eccoing in the recesses of my heart and yes I have seen what HE said HE would do for me….daily! I am awestruck wth HIS love for me, but even still I am humbled at how simple it was for me to receive what I had been yearning for all along by simply “Trusting” HIM and surrendering.
Thank you for being such a blessing with these devotionals!
Please enter me!
Chondra
Thank you. The timing of this was perfect for me. I needed that reminder to read verse 12 as often as I cling to verse 11! My husband lost his job and as we wonder if we will lose our house too, we need to remember that in the midst of it all nothing that truly matters has changed. We still just need to seek him each day with our whole hearts.
(please enter me)
One of my favorite stories is about Namaan. All he had to do was dip in the Jordan 7 times to be healed. But what a struggle that man had in submitting to such an easy plan…
I’m like that. God has an easy way for me to know his grace and love. All I must do is trust that he has everything in the palm of his hand and that he is able to handle anything that I perceive as “too big,” the good and the bad. But I have a short-term memory that often forgets the faithfulness of God and his delivered promises.
In some ways, I’m happy for my trials/struggles/dilemmas because they force me to look to my Deliverer and to remember that he is God. Nothing else compares to him. Don’t think that it escapes his notice that I talk more with him in questioning times. That’s why he sends me through the things that he does. He’s getting me refocused on the only thing that matters.
Enter me please.
I also hold on to that verse when times are hard. Thank you for prompting me to read more and give more. God always wants more of us in good times and hard times. Thanks for sharing.
Enter Me
Lisa E
Wow, what an awesome post today! Really needed to hear that. I love those verses in Jeremiah and it kinda makes me sad that most focus so much on verse 11 – while it is amazing, don’t get me wrong – but miss the one that follows! LOVE IT!
Thanks again and Enter Me please.
Val
Thank you for your post. In reading the responses, there are many of us out here that are in a “hurting” situation. I could go on and on about mine as well, but the bottom line is that God truly does know my need, has all the resources at His disposal to take care of each of them and has promised to do just that. His goal through the refining fire is to make me more like Jesus – and that is precisely what my goal should be as well! To all of us together that are having hard times, what a comfort to know that we are not alone (we have the Father, and then each other so we can’t feel “picked” on – we each have our share!) Trusting the God of the universe to care for me and you today and every day.
I was meditating on Jeremiah 29:11 last night. I like the KJV… “I know the thoughts I think towards you…”
My God is thinking about me (what a remarkable concept!!!!); he desires a similar portion from me. How can I refuse him anything less than my all? Thank you for your vulnerability in sharing your heart.
peace~elaine
please “enter me”…
Linda,
That seems to be something I am always in need of … prioritizing and putting God first. Many times my heart and soul long to spend time in His presence, but many times my flesh rules and I do something else in stead. Things that aren’t even really important seem to creep in and steal the precious time.
I’m so thankful that even during those times, God is calling me and pursuing me to spend time with Him. He feeds that desire in my heart until it becomes bigger than the desires of my flesh … and finally I allow Him to be where He should be, and where I really want Him to be … FIRST!
I’m so glad that we have a loving God who is faithful even when we aren’t! We are so blessed!
Enter me, please!
Beautiful words! Thanks!
Please enter me!
Grace
linda,
such a powerful and timely lesson for me today. thank you. i’m taking your words away from here to drink them in.
Jeremiah 29:11
A verse that I cling to as well. Your prayer is my prayer. also. I want to seek HIM, with ALL of my Heart, why do I not?!?
Time with the Father gets pushed back in the midst of a busy life filled with things I feel I must get done – or, sadly, with things I’d rather do. DITTO
Please ENTER ME!
It’s that ‘hunger and thirsting’ for Him and that relationship he offers us! It’s getting to that point that life is transformed! Beautiful post of God’s amazuing grace and truth. Thanks!
In His Graces~Pamela
PS-count me in for the “She Speaks” scholarship!
Great post – thanks for sharing!
Enter me, please!
God is speaking to me and his message keeps resounding in everything I read and in the messages from my Pastor. Your devotion made things a little clearer…I am not spending enough time with God in prayer. I have great faith in him and that brings me great peace but I have been taking God for granted. I often take my husband for granted but never saw myself as a person who would take God for granted but he is telling me that is exactly what I am doing. I have just set back in my easy chair and relaxed just a little to much. Thank you for being obedient to the Lord. I am so grateful I found LWG devotionals. I look forward every day to reading them.
Angela
“enter me”
Wow, Linda, Wow,
This post was soooo needed. I want to cry over all of the comments. Thank you for your servant heart.
Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorites. I would call this one of my life verses. Awesome post. You are awesome. Love you, Lynn
He is challenging me to seek Him with all of my heart. Thank you for the reminder… You’re heart wasn’t the only one pierced.
Please enter me.
How fitting that the very anti-spam word for me was Jesus. Linda…this was an incredible read. Encouraged my heart in the painful spot I was feeling today.
Jesus knows everytime. He leads us….and we must follow.
You blessed me in a way you cannot imagine.
It is the trials that I find Him speaking the loudest to my heart. It is when I am hurting when I ‘seek’ Him and pursue him with an unqenchable fervor. It is in the desert and wilderness times of my life that I see His burning bush so clearly. Praise God!
Thank you for this, it spoke to my heart,
Joanne
“Patiently, lovingly He waits – calling me to come…”
I am always so grateful and humbled by the fact that he patiently and lovingly waits for me…
Thanks for sharing.
Seek me and you will FIND ME! What a great thought to start each day, seeking and trying to find God in each day!
Seeking,
Denise A
ENTER ME