Plans

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

This verse is a family favourite, and there is a plaque on our wall which has been with us for some 20+ years. It is obvious why it has also become a favourite down the family line. We have all leaned on it at times, sometimes heavily, but go back in time now. Remember those young days when the future was spread out before you? Dreams were combined with plans as you figured out your next 50+ years.

Like you, I can relate to making plans. The best plans, with a long future involving the girl of my dreams, a happy home with a nice garden for our children to play safely in, health, happiness, just enough money, a reliable car, a good job which involved travel and provided security, an education which allowed our family to survive in this world, and grandchildren. So what’s wrong with that? Nothing, but they were my plans. Mine. Most came true, but some didn’t.

The verse is specific, and says that God has great plans for us too. let’s face it, He knows better than us what is best. I love the part in the middle that says “..and not to harm you”. But did you also see the start of the verse. The important thing is not any plan I might have, but that our God says “I know the plans”. Not you, not me, but God knows. It doesn’t say He would tell us either. They are not our plans after all, they belong to God, and there are no better hands for our future to be in, even though it might not seem like it at times. Maybe all of my own plans didn’t work out the way I wanted, but I still love this verse, and cling to its truth, because our God and His truth are always good.