“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29: 11
As the pandemic starts to slow down, and our country/province begins to open up again, do I ever have plans! I’m going to visit with family out of town. I’m going to start inviting people over to my home again. I’m going to start ‘hanging out’ with my grandkids again. There are things I want fixed around my house, and I’ll start looking for someone to help me. I want to wander the malls again, and look for new clothes. I’m going to start eating out again. I may want to buy tickets to music concerts and plays. I can hardly wait to ditch those pesky masks. Yes, I definitely have plans!
But wait:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
God has plans for me. But, do God’s plans correspond with my plans? Over my life, I’ve often discovered that God has plans that differ from my plans. One of the most dramatic examples was when I reapplied to teach when we realized Wayne’s health issues were serious as he waited for a liver transplant. I thought I had as good a chance as anybody of getting hired because many of the people I worked with, before I had my kids, were now in administration. They knew me and my reputation as a teacher. My husband was also well-known at the board offices for the work he had done over the years. Discovering that my application had been lost, and now I was offered the only job which was left – in alternative education – an area I had no experience in at all – ‘threw me for a loop”. I was upset and panicking. But that job turned out to be the best job of my life, and the biggest learning curve I’d ever had. In so many ways the ripple effects of that job – in various areas of my life – have totally convinced me that verse is true. God has “plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
In 2021, life is opening up again after more than a year of shut-down. What are God’s plans for me now? In Luke 10, Jesus gave us an answer when a young man wanted to know what the priorities in life should be.
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (10: 27)
I don’t think there is anything wrong with the list of plans I wrote at the beginning of today’s devotions. But … maybe I need to stop and ask God what his plans are for me now. As I look at my life, what should be my priorities? In what specific, down-to-earth ways should I put God first – “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.” How do I fit God into my everyday life? And then, how do I “love my neighbour as myself”? What should I volunteer for?
I’m still thinking and praying about all that. Perhaps we all should. Life would be full of hope and good things if we looked for God’s plans. Disaster and regret wouldn’t be part of our story.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29: 11
Our song for today is Trust in You by Lauren Daigle.