Plans

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

Yesterday my plan was to be in church today, all three services - worshiping together, being challenged by God's word and encouraged by those around me. But when fever hit my son, and then the croupy cough I soon realized that those plans were going to change. Not thrilled with my plans changing, as a mom my obligation is to my children - and he needed me. So a night on the couches, meds, fluids, and high fever hallucinations became my reality.

Plans change. Doesn't matter how organized or precise we are, no matter how many scenarios we THINK we have worked out in our head - plans change. Sometimes those plans are minor, and sometimes those plans are life changing. When plans change in our favor like dinner burns and you have to go out to eat instead (yes, I'm speaking from experience)they are almost like nice little surprises - and we don't seem to mind too much. But when plans change so severe that it feels like the very floor has dropped out from underneath us - it's almost too much to bear. Jeremiah 29:11 gives us reassurance that no matter how bad we think things are at the moment - GOD HAS A PLAN! And even better those plans are to prosper us, not to harm us - and most importantly are full of HOPE and a future.

So how do we hold onto that hope when when we can't see it? When the present is so dark that the future doesn't look bright at all? Our hope and our future is the Lord himself. He will walk with us through the darkness, HE will carry us when we can't walk anymore, HE will be our strength when there is not one more ounce of strength in us. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 When all that is within us is exhausted and worn out - all we can do is fall into HIS arms. What are you waiting for? Aren't you tired of doing it all on your own?

So how do we do that? Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Just give it to HIM. Start telling him, He's listening. Too hard to talk? Write it down, all you are holding onto - all the plans YOU have - and then rip it up. When you rip it up, you are giving it up, and giving it to HIM. It's not easy to do - and you might have to do more than once, but worth doing. And remember that plans change - but GOD DOES NOT! "I am the Lord, and I do not change." Malachi 3:6

Here's the exciting thing - we can't even begin to imagine what God has for us!

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

If we rest in HIS WAYS - and believe HE has the BEST for us - then our plans seems meaningless compared to HIS plans. Does that make the painful situation you are in right now less painful? NO! Your pain is real, your loss is real, your anxiety is real - but GOD IS REAL TOO! Really into YOU!

Proverbs 19:21 You can make many plans,but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. We can make all the plans we want but God has the final say.