Skip to main content

What do I have to do for it?


Jeremiah 29:11 says, “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.”  Even though this is the most popular part of that chapter, it goes on to say in verse 12, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord…

I feel convicted in my spirit because I know better, but I just get caught up with the dreaming and hoping and future part.  I desire a home for my family, a thriving career, healthy children and sure, some material things to enjoy.  I know that God has wonderful things in store for me, but I wonder if there is something I can do to “hurry” the process along a bit.  “Lord, I know you have plans for me, but can you let me in on your time table?” I find myself asking.  In my years of loving the Lord and being loved by Him, I could see Him just shaking His head.  He just doesn’t operate on my time and He certainly doesn’t ask for my help in making His plans a manifestation.   I know what He wants.  He desires me to trust Him more than anything.  I don’t know the plans exactly, but I know He does.  We’ve been here before. This isn’t our first mission together.  We’ve been a team for a long time.  I know the Scriptures and can quote at least ten of them right now that’ll put me to shame.

1)      Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

2)      Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat – for He grants sleep to those he loves.  Psalm 127

3)      If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.  John 15:7

4)      For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.  From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.  I will ever praise you. Psalm 71:5

5)      Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

6)      “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8

7)      For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Romans 11:29

8)      We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.  Romans 12:6

9)      Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imaging, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20

10)   And last but certainly not least… 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



What do I have to do for it?  Believe; Trust; Pray; Praise; Expect; Prepare; Wait.  There isn’t a whole lot that God asks of us.  And sometimes these answers don’t feed our To-Do List society.  Waiting is quite unpopular.  Praying feels like we’re not doing anything but talking to ourselves.  Believing, trusting, expecting seems like we’re twiddling our thumbs looking outside the window.  Praising feels forced, as we prepare for what?  We don’t see how anything is really changing or moving. 

And so the cycle begins again.  We must delve into the scriptures to correct our misinformed mind of how to exist and live during this time.  We have to beat it into ourselves, if necessary.  Back to #1. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mic Check

  1 Peter 3: 15 “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.    And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” 2 Timothy 4 “Preach the word of God.   Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not.   Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”   I missed an opportunity to preach the Good News at my father’s 70 th birthday party with all our friends and family gathered together to celebrate my dad.   What a wonderful time we had.   And I was holding the mic and recounted an early childhood memory but I had also planned to speak about a time when my dad and I were on the phone and having a deep conversation about life and some loved ones who had passed away. It was a difficult time and it seemed we had lost too many friends and family members one right after the other.   I grew up in the church, thanks to my mom’s dedication to get my brother and I there, whether we wanted to go or not.   My dad only r
Post a Comment
Read more

On Marriage and Family

A strong family is the backbone to a thriving society.   And I was shaped by a strong family.   My mother and father have been married for 38 years and counting and I grew up in the same home all of my life.   I consider my upbringing to have been very sheltered compared to many, but I never felt like I missed out on anything.    I have numerous happy memories and some sad ones too.   I've made my fair share of really bad decisions in life, but I ultimately feel equipped to be able to get through this thing called life.   Why is this important?   Well, the fabric and culture of our society is moving farther away from traditional family households.  We are less and less concerned about who is raising our children.   We are increasingly concerned about how we look physically, and not even on the health of our bodies (which might be okay) but just the shape of them.   We are increasingly sexifying our generation and the ones to come.   We are more concerned about going viral tha
Post a Comment
Read more

The Woman I'm Meant To Be

Sometimes I’m really hard on myself.   There is a disparity between where I am and where I want to be.   I’ll never be perfect, and that’s never been my burden.   I’ve always wanted to do my best.   And I feel an incredible sense of satisfaction when I’ve given my best effort.   When you know you’ve left it all out on the field, when you’ve given it your all, when you’ve fought till your last breath.   There is a sense of peace when you live there, and I want to live there more often than not. Living there requires passion.   That’s where some get lost.   Not knowing what their passion is.   To give your all, there has to be something that you care enough about that you’ll exhaust yourself, staying up late to get it done.   You’ll wake up early to get closer to achieving it.   There isn’t anything easy about it, except loving it.   So, that’s what drives you to keep pressing toward it.   As the apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13, “Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hol
Post a Comment
Read more