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 (NIV)
Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favourite bible verses, it is an awesome promise given to the people of Judah, but it also applies to our lives too. God loves His people and has good plans for them, if you have accepted Christ in your life then you are also included in this promise.
The interesting thing about this promise is that when it was given to the nation, it was right before they were defeated, right before they went into captivity as exiles. You see for the people living in those times things were not going well, it would be easy for them to think God had abandoned them. But God was still with them and gave this amazing promise to build the faith of those who held fast to the LORD.
Sometimes in our lives, what we believe the promise to be and what we see, appear to be contradictory. Oh God your promise and plan is this and yet this is what is happening.
I currently have something like this happening in my life. I have always felt a call to ministry, and a couple years ago I was deeply unsatisfied with my work situation, which was full time as a veterinarian. So, after many discussions and much prayer I reduced my hours and started working one day a week for Zion as a Ministery Assistant, a role which I have thoroughly enjoyed. However, I now find myself having to go back to full time vet work. Today is my last day working in the office at Zion, does that mean the call to ministry was wrong? No, it’s still there, I’m not going anywhere; I will still do some of my role as a volunteer. It’s just the season we are walking through, and God still sees the plan’s he has for us all. Sometimes what seems like a step backwards is needed to take us to the next part of the plan.
So, I am going to embrace the next season of my life. Knowing that God knows the plans he has for me, and those plans are good!
Phil Brown