That’s the question a hurting friend asked me last week. It was a valid question, considering her circumstances. In a desperate attempt to encourage her, loved ones keep telling my friend what loved ones often say when we’re hurting:
“Things will get better.”
But...what if they don’t?
I understand her question; honestly, it’s one I’ve asked God before. Like my friend, I live with chronic physical pain. Every flipping day. And some days, well, if I’m honest (and I am), I’m just done. Finished. Worn slick from painting on a happy face, I can’t help but wonder if this is as good as it gets. My weary self wants to focus on all the things I can’t do because of wacked out discs and the potentially grim future ahead.
Ahhh…but then I remember a precious promise from God,
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD.
They are plans for good and not for disaster,
to give you a future and a hope."
- The Bible, Jeremiah 29:11
While that might not change my circumstances, it radically rearranges my reality. Because of Him,
I have a future.
I have a hope.
The God of the Bible doesn’t do random. He’s the same God who created the plants before He created the animals and people who would need the plants to survive. He’s a God of logic and order. Along with His profound purposefulness, He is loving and not mean-spirited. That means that as long as He leaves me here on planet Earth, He has good reason. He has plans with my name of them; Plans for my good. A future filled with hope.
You know what?
The same is true for you.
Really Relating
How does it make you feel to know that God has plans with your name on them?
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I love Jeremiah 29:11 and use it often to encourage others, and myself. It is one of those promises that we must hang our lives on, and because it is God's word, it will not change, but we can always know that He is in control, has a plan, and it is a good one, regardless of our circumstances. I believe we need to consciously stand on this in the good times as well as the hard times. Increased joy will be the fruit regardless of our crisis! Thanks for encouraging the ranks with your hope filled posts! Bob Parr
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