'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 have been a Christian for a long time so you would think that I would be beyond harboring doubt about God's love for me. Certainly, even if I doubted His love, I would not harbor thoughts that He has bad intentions toward me, Well, unfortunately, if I am honest with myself I sometimes experience anxiety related to God and His feelings toward me and His intentions for me. I don't doubt that He is all powerful. I just sometimes wonder if He plans to use His mightiness for my benefit.
Although I have been blessed tremendously throughout my life, I have had some painful, traumatic experiences when I wondered where God was or wether or not He was paying attention to my situation. Usually, I imagined that no one else was going through what I was experiencing and thus I was somehow being singled out. A lot of these notions stemmed from a very one sided acceptance of the Word of God and all that it reveals about the personhood of God. I viewed God as being omnipotent, omnipresent, omnicient, etc. so it therefore followed that if everything was not kosher in my life at a particular time then God was choosing to allow me to go through these things and choosing not to miraculously intervene.
It's important to note that I was raised in the Pentecostal church where testifying was a well developed art. The saints would dramatically tell of the goodness of Jesus and just as dramatically talk about all the evil deeds of the devil. Now, the saints were always ultimately delivered from the evil plots of satan and the Lord always showed up right on time. I was very influenced by this. I remember rejoicing with the saints that with the Lord's help they had overcome but I was always curious as to why the Lord just didn't prevent them from having any negative experiences at all. I also secretly wanted God to keep me from evil altogether.
As a student of the Word, I know that we live in a sinful world and that we will suffer trials and tribulations as a result. I also know and believe that 'All things work together for good for those who are called according to His will.' I also realize that our faith is often tested in order that we might grow stronger in our faith. But I had to remind myself today that God takes no pleasure in our struggles. Nor does He have any ill intent toward us. It is illogical that He would send His only Son to die for our sins in order that He might have a real relationship with us just to spend time and energy trying to cause us harm. So, if I am going through a difficult time and if my current situation does not seem to be working out, I need to remeber that God ultimately desires the best for me. I have to reflect on the Foot prints poem and recognize that His is always with me. Sometimes He walks beside me and I can feel His presence and sometimes He carries me and I might not be aware that he is there.
'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
This passage in Jeremiah is such a comfort to me. First of all God is thinking of me. this is incredible when we think of how great He is and how insignificant we are. Not only is He thinking of me but he has plans for me to benefit and not to suffer calamity. I of course have to put this in a spiritual perspective but I can take comfort in knowing that the Creator of the universe is thinking good thoughts and making good plans for me. Awww, that feels better already.
