Yesterday I was reading a blog that talked about struggling with a certain bible verse. And as I read it I thought, “Oh, I get it. I struggled with the same one.” So I went back to look at what I had written about it and discovered that it spoke to me again.
Amazing how sometimes our own writings can come back and give us great reminders. So I made today’s YOU:create canvas out of the verse and am republishing my thoughts on it. Hope it turns out to be something you needed to hear again, too...
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”
This is a cross that hangs in my living room and it has, at times, been full of loaded words to me.
That was my fault. Not the fault of the words.
The thing is, being human, we really always want to make everything about us – what we want, what we desire, what we choose to hear. I see the words stating there is a plan to prosper and not harm me, and it’s hard not to think, “Really? Did you miss me in line on the day when the whole don’t-harm-me-prize was handed out?” Because let’s be real. I live in my body everyday. It’s been harmed.
But the thing is, these words were the Lord’s, not mine. He stated them with His heart and His intentions, not mine. Wanting to put my own interpretation on them is my problem, not His.
I felt this way to some degree when the Prayer of Jabez was popular a few years back. I am in no way saying that prayer was bad… it wasn’t. But there were people who would email me the prayer with the intent that it was a magic charm or something. That I would be healed, that my financial troubles would disappear, that all prayers are answered and I would get all I wanted.
Oh, how we want to fix the suffering. The problem is, we want it to be fixed our way, in our time, and by our standards. I think the prayers are good, if we put God’s expectations on them instead of our own.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.”
There are times I can read this with my eyes, and I wonder where my prosperity is. Where is my job, my career, my purpose? I can wonder how His plan is not to harm me. My body is broken, my abilities are diminished, my physical self is kept captive in my home.
But then I read the first line again. He knows the plans He has for me. Not the plans I have for me. Not the plans I wished for myself. His plans. For me.
He has plans… it’s up to me to trust that. It always boils down to trust.
I can look through His eyes and see how I have prospered in the midst of my life. I have greater friendships and support than anyone else I have ever known. I have found companions in all of you. I have a home that provides me security and safety from the elements. It’s my comfort and my safe haven.
Through God’s eyes, I am not harmed. I do have a body that constantly attacks me, but my spirit is more than strong. It is safe and content and securely at peace. I have been prospered and protected. That in and of itself gives me hope and a future. And all of that is possible because I choose to trust His plan.
The amazing thing is, that’s just what I imagine His eyes to see. All the little things and big things I am sure I miss everyday with my human eyes are seen by His. And I trust that He’s taking care of it all.
All I have to remember to do is get out of His way… to let His eyes guide my life instead of relying on my own limited vision.
To win today’s canvas, simply leave me a comment before midnight CST. I’ll let you know the winner in tomorrow’s post. [Only one comment per person, please.]
I can’t wait to see what you guys came up with this week! Just click below and follow the instructions to link to your project. When it asks you to choose the web or a file for your thumbnail, choose web. Then it will take you to a list of the images on the page you are linking to and you’ll be able to choose a photo to represent your project.