“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord,
“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
Plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11)
Cathy once saw a church play in which little notes would come wafting down from the rafters into the hands of the main characters. The little notes were from God and contained explicit instructions for immediate situations.
I want that.
Please.
I’m flexible—the notes don’t have to waft. They can float, or flutter, plummet or plunge. It doesn’t even have to be physical notes—I’d be great with an email from www.HolySpirit.God. I just want him to give me personalized messages about what to do and where to go. Is that too much to ask?
Apparently, yes.
Yes, I know that God has already given us a plan. It’s called the Bible, and it’s full of God’s wisdom for living. But when I read the Word, I see nothing declaring, “Hey, Michael. This is just for you!” Which is what I’m looking for. For example, Scripture tells me what kind of husband to be, but it didn’t tell me who to marry (fortunately, I got that figured out on my own). It tells me what kind of workman to be, but not what job to pursue. To be wise with my money, but not what stocks to invest in. There’s no mention whatsoever about whether I should be eating Paleo, gluten-free, or vegan (yeah, I know Jesus referred to himself as the Bread of Life…but how far am I supposed to take that?). Tell me I’m not alone—tell me you’ve also wished for that little note from Heaven.
‘Course you have.
Sometimes, in an effort to find that personalized message, we take Scripture out of context, and “discover” meanings that were never there to begin with. We know it’s dangerous, but we do it anyway. Greg Koukl, a philosopher and apologist who I really respect, tells the story of a woman who was thinking about leaving her husband for another man. She turned to Scripture, looking for personalized guidance from God for her specific situation. She found what she was looking for in Paul’s exhortation to, “Put on the new man.”
Hmmmm…context, anyone?
A buddy, when he was a baby Christian, wanted to write a worship song. He decided to let the Holy Spirit choose the subject for him, so he prayed, opened his Bible at random, and picked the first verse that he saw on the page.
And that, Brothers and Sisters, is how the classic worship song “And the Eunuch Shall Not Enter the Temple” came to be.
We have to be careful about taking Bible verses out of context. Even Jeremiah 29:11, the verse I quoted at the top of this piece, and the verse that forms the basis of Daniel—the show my boy and I are in and that you’re tired of hearing about—has to be read in context. God was talking to his people Israel, who were about to face some brutal, but well earned, punishment. God wanted them to know that he had not forgotten them, and that he would bring them home one day. He wasn’t promising you that you’ll get married one day, or that you’ll finally pay off all your debt, or that you’ll get that dream job.
I wish he was, but he wasn’t.
Do I mean that, since the Bible was written long before we were born, that it has no application to our lives? No. I mean that we have to be careful about what promises we claim to see in Scripture.
So, is there anything we can take for ourselves from Jer. 29:11? I think so, because the verse reveals God’s heart for his people. If you belong to Christ, you are now one of his people—see Ephesians 3:6 and Galatians 3:26-29 to check me on that. So, while the specifics of that message may not apply, the basic message does.
- God has a plan for you. You may not get to know it right now, but he has one.
- God’s plan is for your good. He is your father; he loves you. He will never bring you difficulties that are not ultimately for your benefit.
- God’s plan goes way out into the future, far beyond what you can see today.
Do you trust that? Do you trust that God has a plan for you, even if he chooses not to share that plan with you today? Do you trust that he loves you?
Oh, I hope so.
There are about 1000 metaphors I could use here. Let’s go with the flashlight. Imagine that you’re out on a walk at night. The night is pitch dark, and your only light comes from a small flashlight. You can’t see the whole path from where you stand; you can only see the little bit that the light shows you. If you keep the light trained on the path right in front of you, you will see enough to keep from stumbling. If you try to shine the light too far down the path, you will likely trip over something right in front of you.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105)…sound familiar?
My Brother, My Sister, don’t work yourself into a tizzy trying to figure out God’s plan for your life. Just trust that he has one.
Well, all right, if you like I do have permission from God to share one bit of his plan with you.
Ready?
Here it comes…
He plans for you to spend the rest of forever fully and completely loved by him.
Good plan.