Keep on Living
I am a planner. Certified Project Management Professional, really. I’ve planned everything from construction and design projects to the birth of my first three children. And even when a surprise comes along (hello fourth child) I immediately start planning the next steps.
So, what is a planner to do when there is no evident plan for the next season of her life? You’ve run through all the outcomes so that you can start your plan to get there… and nothing. There is a nagging feeling that every option is not the one. Oh, you know you could do it, whatever that it may be, but there is something holding you back. You pray, you fast, you seek wise counsel and you search God’s Word for answers… and nothing.
I don’t have a plan. But God does.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29.:11
God did not forget his people. And he has not forgotten you.
There is great comfort in one of the most quoted verses in scripture. But what if I told you that part of God’s plan for his people included a lifetime of captivity? Would you lose hope? Sometimes I do. Sometimes, I question God. Why am I held captive by the circumstances that are out of my control – not part of my plan?
Open your Bible and read chapters 28 and 29 of Jeremiah. (Yes, all of it.) Nestled in between the quick and easy fix of false prophets lies the truth of God. And that my friend is where hope is found.
There is hope because in the middle of our personal captivity is a God that says keep on living. Seek Him and you will experience the freedom of his goodness and grace. He will bring you back from your place of exile (Jeremiah 29:14).
Keep on living.
Easier said than done for a planner that freezes up or goes a little crazy when she doesn’t know the next move. Even though God has not laid out the details of his plan for a really big part of my life, He has something to say about living life while I wait.
He told the exiles, “build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number, do not decrease. Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes this I what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:4-9
While I would love to take parts of this passage literally (like build a new house and garden), I think God has a different message in mind. He has me where I am at right now for a purpose. What I see as nothing, God reminds me that there is something right in front of me.
As I live captive to life’s circumstances there is freedom in following Christ. If Jeremiah were to write his letter to me personally, it might go something like this:
“Keep living out your life and rest in him. Don’t worry about all the details, he has a plan and it is for your good. Focus on growing His kingdom, starting with your family, and pray for the people he has put in your path. They need the Lord and the more the merrier. Be careful that false hopes don’t draw you away from the Lord. The world’s promises last only for a moment, but God is forever faithful.”
God does know the plans he has for me and they are good! They may not be what I dreamed of or imagined, they are more. And even when I am waiting on the next steps, He gives me direction so that I do not lose hope as he prepares me for His plan.
It is my prayer that you know the Lord and seek him in all you do. I am praying for you. After all, if you are reading my blog, God has put you in my path. You are part of his plan. We are part of his plan. Let’s make the most of where we are.
Something to think about.
God’s people we read about in Jeremiah heard false promises from false prophets. How have you been listening to the false hope the world offers to give you today? How are you actively seeking God and following his direction?
What are you doing as you wait on God’s plan to unfold in your life?