Jeremiah 29:11-13 “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.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  

He has a plan.  Are you open to His plan for your life, or are you pretty comfortable where you are?  Have you been waiting for Him to reveal His plan for your life, and you are wondering if it will ever happen?  Are you so frustrated with everything that has come against you that you have begun to wonder if there really is a plan or if maybe all the “storms” of life are the plan?  Did you wake up one morning realizing that the life you are living is not the plan you know God has for you?

There’s hope!  He still has a plan for you!  His desire for you to shine is still there, and He wants to walk you through all that you are facing, right into all that He has planned.  Sometimes there are storms that seem to rob us of almost everything, but if we allow Him to, He will take all of that and work it out for good. If you have found yourself in a dark season, whether it is due to someone else’s bad decision, your own, or it’s just life here on earth that He has allowed, He can use it to grow you into something He can use on a greater level than you can imagine.  Press in and seek Him with your whole heart.  Ask Him for His strength and guidance, and keep your eyes fixed on Him! God loves you and He wants a close relationship with you.  He doesn’t want a tiny corner in your life, He wants all of it.  He wants to show you things you would never understand without Him, and you can’t see that if you are focused on something else.  

The world will tell you, “if it feels good, do it”, “you’re number 1”, “there are no absolutes”…… and the list goes on and on of the things the world has to say that directly oppose everything the Bible has to say.  It’s pretty simple: if you want God’s best, you must follow God’s plan, and you will find His plan in His word!  Spend time getting to know Him.  Ask Him for His wisdom for everything you face.  The world’s way will just bring more heartache and pain.  God wants you to fulfill the purpose He created you for, and sometimes we get there through hardship and pain.  

Don’t give up on the plan that God has for you, and don’t get distracted.  Satan has a way of pulling every tool in his little toolbox out to try to get you off course.  As the old saying goes, “If satan can’t make you bad, he will make you busy.”  Don’t get so caught up in the insignificant things and busy things of life that you miss out on either.  It is possible to get so caught up in “good things” but not the right things, and we miss out on His best.  Just because something is good to do doesn’t mean it is right for you or your family right now.  Ask God to set your priorities.  Ask Him if everything you have going on is right for this season of your life.  Don’t hesitate to tell people, “No, it’s just not the right time for that in my life right now”.  Before you say “Yes”, take time to pray about it.  That has been a difficult lesson for me when it comes to seeing a “need”.  God and I had a serious chat the other day about it because I want to just “fix the need” when I see one.  On one side, that doesn’t sound like a bad thing, and it isn’t if that is what God wants. Emergencies are a totally different subject, and usually, if God has placed you there, then dig in and help! There are times when God will ask you to help, and we need to listen and obey because we are called to be His hands and feet, but there are times when He may have someone else in mind who needs to step up.  We need to pray about it, and I don’t mean a quick, “Hey God, I’m going to go do this…”. We need to truly ask, and this goes for anyone who really doesn’t like to dig in and help because you have enough on your plate.  Make sure your plate is filled by Him so you can be open to His leading for any service for Him.  There’s a balance in His plan for your life that He wants to guide you into; all you have to do is be open to it.