I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU

September 26, 2007

 

God wants every one of us to know that He loves us and has GOOD plans for our lives.

 

Maybe you've followed God obediently and have not yet seen the results you expected. maybe your hope is waning. don't let it. god has good plans for your future. your time is coming; in fact, it may be here right now. don't lose your hope or the promises god put in your heart. Those mean something--they come from God.

Maybe you haven’t been obedient. Maybe you’ve turned away from God and think it’s too late to turn back. Don’t give up hope. God has good plans for your future if you return to him now. 

Or, maybe you’ve made some mistakes and though you love God and are trying to follow Him, you are reaping the results of them. Don’t give up. Turn to God and call upon Him. There will be a good harvest coming. Just go to him and tell him you know you've made mistakes. Call on him to turn things around.

THIS IS WHAT GOD IS SAYING TODAY: 

“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

 

These were God’s words to and through the prophet Jeremiah. It was given during the time that Israel was in captivity in Babylon. They were slaves and so were their children. They had been very wicked and had deserted God---worshipped idols, and even sacrificed their children to these idols. That was why they were in captivity, but they had learned a lesson. God didn't give up on them.

 

GOD WOULD NOT STAY ANGRY WITH THEM. HE FORGAVE THEM.

 

Now God was telling them some very wonderful and unexpected news. They would not be in this situation forever. They could have hope; God would give them that Hope and a good future. He would prosper them.

 

GOD WAS TELLING THEM THAT HIS PLANS WERE TO BLESS THEM—NOT TO PUNISH THEM.

 

God’s nature is one of love and forgiveness. He is just and righteous, but He is also merciful. He loves mankind—so much that He gave His Son for them. That is remarkable but, what’s even more remarkable is that God didn’t just do this for the righteous—for those who loved Him and were seeking Him.

 

GOD GAVE HIS SON FOR US WHEN WE WERE NOT EVEN LOOKING FOR HIM.

 

ROMANS 5:7Now it is an extraordinary thing for one to give his life even for an upright man, though perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor someone might even dare to die.  8But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.

 

NOT ONE OF US WERE SAVED BECAUSE WE WERE RIGHTEOUS OR EVEN SEEKING HIM. No one is capable of seeking Him unless He seeks us first. He draws us and calls us and then it’s up to us to answer that call and accept his love and his mercy.

 

  John 6:44No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws him and gives him the desire to come to Me, and [then] I will raise him up [from the dead] at the last day.

 

That’s really good news. We don’t have to be righteous and perfect to come to God and we don’t have to do everything right to stay in His Favor. If we did, we’d all be pretty hopeless. But we’re not hopeless—we can have great hope because

 

GOD’S PLANS FOR US ARE TO GIVE US HOPE AND A FUTURE—TO PROSPER US AND BLESS US. HE HAS NO DESIRE TO HARM OR PUNISH US BUT RATHER TO BLESS AND DELIVER US FROM ALL SIN AND DANGER.

 

And if that isn’t enough, read the second part of the verse because God makes it really easy for us:  God says that when we want to claim the truth of His promise, that he has a plan of prosperity, hope and a future for us, that all we have to do is call upon Him, pray to Him, and He will listen to us.  

 

“For I know that plans that I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”   - Jeremiah 29:11 – 12

 

Most of you know the story of Naomi and Ruth. In a time of famine, Naomi left God’s Land with her husband and sons and went to Moab—a heathen land because there was food there. Her husband died, her sons married, and then they died too. Naomi had nothing left—she thought. But, her daughter-in-law Ruth was a gift from God. Her daughter-in-law would not leave her.

 

Naomi was bitterly disappointed. Her husband and sons had died; she was in poverty and had nothing except her daughter-in-law Ruth who loved her deeply and would not leave her. However, she had heard that "the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread." (Ruth 1:6) So she returned to Israel—the Land of God.

 

When Naomi returned to her own country from Moab with Ruth, her old town was a buzz. "Can this be Naomi" the women said? They hadn't seen her for over ten years. They never expected to see her again and she probably never expected to see them again either.

 

The name Naomi means "Pleasant, delightful, lovely, joyful." But when the woman of Bethlehem called out "Is this Naomi?" She corrected them in her bitterness: "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, (which means bitter) for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." (Ruth 1:20) Can you blame her? Life dealt her some bitter blows and Naomi's spirit was crushed. If you feel a bit like Naomi—this is for you.

 

Naomi's act of faith in returning home did not go unnoticed by God. And your act of faith--when you call upon God--will not go unnoticed by Him. He saw what had happened to her (He even allowed it), but he never lost track of his loving purpose for her life. Naomi thought that every opportunity for blessing and fulfillment were gone. Hope had died with her husband and sons; there had not even been grandchildren.

 

BUT GOD’S PLANS FOR NAOMI WERE TO GIVE HER HOPE AND A FUTURE.

 

Through her daughter-in-law, Ruth, God would give Naomi a home and a family. He would raise up grandchildren for her and her life would be wonderful. It seemed impossible, but it was God’s plan for her. Her name was not “Mara” or bitterness. It was “Naomi”---pleasant, delightful, joyful, lovely.

 

WHAT NAME DO YOU CALL YOURSELF? ARE YOU BITTER—OR WILL YOU ACCEPT GOD’S HOPE AND PEACE AND JOY?

 

 

Maybe you are in the midst of suffering, pain, anguish. This is a Word of Hope for you today. Maybe you are feeling guilt and condemnation for some reason. This is a word for you too. Maybe you are in financial crisis, family crisis, or in a flair-up from illness. This is definitely a word for you. And, if you are in prison, or shut-in, or homeless or in a desparate situation---this is a word for YOU!

 

 

God knows. He sees and He cares. He has a solution for you and, if you will just come to Him and call on Him and pray, He will listen. His plans for you are good.

 

THE FUTURE HAS GOOD THINGS IN STORE FOR YOU!

 

God is saying to you:

 "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).