On the way to church on
Sunday morning, I was listening to the radio and the person was talking about
how so many people just “wait” to start living. I’ve noticed this as well – in myself
some and in others too. Some people think their life will start when they get
married, or have kids, or when their kids leave the house. New job, new car,
new house.. whatever they feel is lacking is what some people think is needed
to feel whole.
The sermon on Sunday fit
perfectly with what I heard on the radio. Weird how God handles that stuff,
huh?
In Jeremiah 29, God has
sent the Israelites into exile, and He tells them to plant gardens, to marry
and have children. They are in EXILE – in Babylon!!! WHY oh why would God ask
the Israelites, His chosen people, to settle down and make a home in Babylon
and not wait for Jerusalem?
Because. He needed them to
learn something. He needed them to trust
Him. God needed the Israelites to know He would fulfill the promises he made
10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I
will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.
God does the same thing for
us today. He has made many promises in the Bible, and He loves us. Through that
love, He will bring us through the challenges He will place or allow to be
placed in our lives.
Did you know God also did
NOT promise that our lives would be easy and filled with prosperity? Lots of us
like to use Jeremiah 29:11 as a focal verse, but many forget the following two
verses -
Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NASB)
11 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. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen
to you. 13 You will seek Me and
find Me when you search
for Me with all your heart.
Call upon ME…Seek
ME.. Come and pray to ME…
He says we will
seek Him and find Him when we search with all of our heart. ALL.. not 1/4, not
2/3, not 9/10.. but ALL of our heart.
I promise, I have
just as much of a hard time with this as anyone. Cause I know best.. I promise.
For my life, for my child. I. Know. Best.
Don’t you??
We all think we
know what is best for us, but if we were to truly let go and allow God to work
in our lives, it wouldn’t be as scary as so many people think it would be.
I personally am
terrified of what He wants me to do. Can I handle it? How will I manage? Will
my child be accepting of the changes in our lives? Will I accept those changes?
13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart
