‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  [Jeremiah 29:11]

I haven’t been posting much again and I do apologize for that.  I have to admit to you that sometimes I get really defeated, overwhelmed and basically, just weighed down by the world and all the stress of it.  I get worn out trying to do for everyone else all the time, trying to meet everyone else’s needs and expectations, making sure everyone else is happy and healthy.  Sometimes, I would even go so far as to say that I feel sorry for myself.  (Maybe even a lot of the time!)  It seems as though there is really no one in my life that cares for my needs and desires!

That is where Jeremiah 29:11 comes in handy.  I have it hung here in my office and remind myself often that God is well aware of the plans He has for me.  He plans for prosperity, calmness, peace, hope and a future.

In the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago.
[Titus 1:2]

We know that God cannot lie.  He cannot promise us something in which He does not fully intend to deliver!  So I wonder why it is that we allow ourselves to get so bogged down and overburdened?

24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.  [Romans 8:24-25]

It can become quite frustrating and exhausting when bills become overdue, utilities threaten to be shut off, vehicles, appliances and electronics malfunction, vital paperwork is lost…

In fact, I’m sure most of us, if so inclined, could sit and write a book about all the ‘bad’ things in our lives!

You may be familiar with Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback Church in California and author of “Purpose Driven Life”?  This is an excerpt from a short interview with him by Paul Bradshaw regarding his wife’s cancer diagnosis and his staggering book sales…
”I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness, “which is my problem, my issues, my pain.” But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.”

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.  [1 Corinthians 13:13]

There is so much truth in that.  When we sit around wallowing in self-pity and worry, we are essentially being selfish and self-centered!  The best way to get your mind back on track is to do for others and strive to glorify God!

I keep reminding myself that God is control…He is the author of my future…He decides the fate of our family…nothing formed by man against us will withstand!

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  [Romans 15:13]