God Has A Plan - by Barbara Lancaster
God Has a Good Plan
God had a good plan laid out for each one us long before we made our appearances on this planet. It Is not a plan of failure and misery. God’s plan is a good plan, a plan for life, for hope. Scripture affirms this:
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) reads, “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
In John 10:10 (NIV) Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.”
In III John 2 (NIV) we read, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”
We will benefit greatly if we say to ourselves several times a day, “God has a good plan for my life.” Why? Because we need to speak out loud His words so we will be fully convinced of that truth to keep us from being affected by our ever changing circumstances and emotions. .
Some may even ask, “If God has such a wonderful plan for my life, why am I not living in it?”
It does seem strange that if God loves us so much and has such good plans for us, we still suffer as we sometimes do. What we must remember is that we have an enemy who is out to destroy and disrupt God’s wonderful plan and to mess up the things that God has in store for us. This happened to me many years ago…the devil is sly and subtly eases his way in. Sin paves the way for the devil to create havoc, get a foothold in and thwart the good things God had in store. We must be ever alert.
I like to use the analogy of carrying a gun and protecting our homes. We lock our doors when we leave our home or go to bed. We make sure our homes are secure. We even take a carry permit class so that we can arm ourselves for the protection of ourselves and others. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we used the same diligence and awareness to protect ourselves and others from the wiles of ‘Our enemy’? We can (that’s another devotion topic)!
Here’s some good news! Something really awesome that we need to understand about our God. God does not like it when someone hurts us and tries to undermine His plan for us. He always has a plan for our healing and restoration. He is the great Restorer!
While He is making us lie down in green pastures to restore our souls (Psalm 23:2), He is getting up to do something about our situation…on our behalf!
God is on our side and it should be a great comfort to us to know that what we cannot do for ourselves, the Lord will do for us…if we entrust ourselves to Him. He and he alone is our vindicator. He has the power to restore what was lost to us, whether that loss was our own fault or the fault of the enemy. We can trust that. Sometimes ‘things’ do not make sense…but they do not have to. God has a plan.
I like to picture the devil…the enemy, like the Wizard of Oz wicked witch of the West. When we speak out God’s truths (God has a good plan for my life; I am free in Christ Jesus; Words cannot hurt me; I stand against the lies of the enemy; Thank you Lord for this situation, may you be honored and glorified; Seek and extend grace and forgiveness) All these things defeat the enemy and he melts just the wicked witch did in the Wizard of Oz. When I picture that it helps me to stand strong and fight! I literally will go around and thank God for things that are tough/hard…even hurt. The enemy wants it to defeat me, make me sad, angry, hold on to my rights, feel sorry for myself, but God wants it to glorify Him and make me stronger in Him. So I say “Thank you Lord” and the enemy melts!
He asks of us to remember:
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15: 4 (NIV)
God’s Blessings on your day!