Skip to main content

Plans

          “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

It seems as though I’m writing about nothing but how much I fail to live according to my claimed beliefs, and it’s an important thing to consider. I suspect we all live our lives on autopilot too often, and that we’d do better if we were more conscious of what’s going on in our souls. Today’s verse is another of those that I have to ask whether I really believe. And in this case, I think I fare a little better than I have with some of the others.

Without repeating the story, God has made it clear to me that He is guiding me. There are times when I think He’s leading me in directions I don’t want to go, but I have also been telling people for the past ten months that 2020 was one of the bet years of my life. I had such plans when I came home from Florida, I was going to do…so…much.  

Getting a job cut into that, but it’s allowed me to do things I couldn’t have done otherwise.  I’ve been struggling to get the basics done, and now as the job winds down to a minimum, I find myself wondering, “What now?” There are people who are getting ready to do some important, good things, and I don’t feel the least bit inclined to join them. That makes me wonder what’s wrong with me.

But He knows the plans He has for me. As I look back on my life, there is no point at which I could have imagined living the life I am now. I could not have imagined the contentedness; the sense that I am moving in a good direction. It makes no sense that what I’m doing is moving me in a good direction, because it runs counter to everyone else’s wisdom and priorities, but all I can say is that with regard to this verse, I am continuing to hold on to what it promises and continue to follow.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...