For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
We are all making plans every day. Plans to start a business, plans to have a baby, plans to buy a car or a house and the Lord says He is making some plans of His own. God promises those to be good plans for us, He says they are plans to prosper us and give us hope and a future. After God makes this amazing promise, He says in Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (NIV) One of the greatest truths that we can ever grab hold of is the fact that God wants to be a part of our lives and our plans. He actually places the desire we have for an awesome destiny within us. Abraham didn’t feel guilty because he desired more than what he had, and neither should we. What kind of a life would we have if we didn’t pursue our hopes and dreams? God wants to be a part of all that. He wants for us to call on Him and come and pray to Him and seek Him with all our hearts. When we do, He promises we will find Him! To find God is to find righteousness, peace, and joy! That is what His kingdom consists of according to His word.
We don’t set out in life to make the same mistakes we did yesterday, but we tend to keep repeating them when we don’t seek God and His wisdom in all our endeavors. That is how we let our past dictate our future. To move forward in life, we have to get past our past by learning to do things God’s way. The Bible teaches us in Ephesians 2:10 that we are recreated in Christ Jesus so that we can go do the good works God has preplanned for us to do and live the good life He prearranged and made ready for us. We are originally born into a fallen state. That is why God recreated us. Scripture teaches those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells are born again. They are children of God, not of human descent. That is you and me! In Jeremiah 18:1-4 scripture teaches of the potter who had to remake his vessel because it had been marred. That is a picture of us in the hands of the Lord, our Master Potter. We are said to be new creatures when we enter into a relationship with Christ. Old things pass away. We have an opportunity for a new beginning. We become new spiritual clay for the Holy Spirit to work with. God makes arrangements for each of us to have a fresh start, but we must be willing to let go of the past and go on. We make a way for bright days ahead by believing what God says about our future. Don't let your past failures leave you hopeless about your future success. Your future has no room in it for the failures of the past. Just because we have failed does not make us failures. It makes us in need of a Savior and thank God we have one. Whatever Satan has stolen through deception, God will restore double, if you are willing to press forward and forget the past. It's time to let go of the old and grab on to the new!
Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. ~Zechariah 9:12 (NIV)
What hopes and dreams are you currently pursuing?
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