I HAVE A PLAN

For I know the plans I have for you,
declares the Lord, plans to prosper
and not to harm you; plans to give
you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

The above title is a small phrase from the follow-up verse that in recent days, the Holy Spirit has brought to my mind off and on. I know it's meant to assure and comfort me and am so grateful for it. I've enjoyed verses in John 14,15 where Jesus introduced His disciples to the coming of the Holy Spirit after He would be leaving. He explained some of the things the Holy Spirit would do in ministering to them and to us as well, among which is His ability to remind of Scripture Jesus taught or from other places in the Bible. I'm being reminded of that phrase on a regular basis this week.

This reminder is to me of the different times in my life when situations looked not only unsolvable, but also impossible to discern. Now I find today as I am being reminded of this phrase, I have gone back in memory when I faced times of uncertainty. I wish I had been mature enough to know this verse and God's words of comfort in it.

At age of ten, this then skinny, blond headed girl went forward after a sermon by an evangelist. I didn't know much about anything spiritual in nature. I sure didn't know a lot about Scripture, but I knew that day that Jesus became my Savior. That was all I needed to get started on the right track...you see...God had a plan even back then.

In college, my senior year, I had no money to complete the year. I was advised to go to the local bank for a loan. I couldn't imagine they would loan me the money with my going to be living two states away from the location of that bank after graduation. I went to the bank and the president immediately granted the loan. I see now it was nothing I did, but it was God who had a plan for my life and He was kicking that plan into high gear.

After college, having worked in a very difficult inner city situation for a time, I came to the point where I knew I was supposed to leave that work. I had no car, no money, no anything. Going back to college hours, I realized I had a lot of library science hours. I went to a nearby city to apply for a job in their city library and was hired on the spot. I walked out of the library and across the street, a lady was putting a sign up in a window. It was advertising a furnished apartment for rent. I almost ran across the street to the somewhat broken down building and talked with her. Told her I didn't have any money for a deposit. She smiled and told me to not worry about money. I could just give her my first rent in a month. I knew God was working, but I also knew God had a plan. A lot of that plan was meeting Brian in my church just down the street. God had a plan beyond anything I could imagine.

In 1968, just about two months before my wedding, I came down with the Hong Kong flu. I recently checked the death rate in our country of that horrible flu that had come across the Pacific Ocean to our shores. I've never been so sick. However, many others in our country suffered terribly. Hospitals were full. I couldn't get into a hospital, but was living with dear friends who helped nurse me back to health. In those days, there were about 34,000 Americans who died from just that flu. I could have been one of them except for the fact that God still had a plan for my life just as even now He has for you as well.

Lately, my thoughts have been running to and fro through my mind regarding a situation I know is going to have to be faced. I've learned even though God is in charge, very often end results haven't been exactly what I have hoped they would be. So I look back at God's track record in my life when there have been major things needing a decision. No matter all the things God has worked in and through my life, He's always done a good job. Even if it meant a lot of adjustment, His Spirit has been present strengthening and educating me through any situation. I'm so grateful the Spirit has reminded me in recent days that God always has a plan for my life and always knows what He's doing.

I'm sure some reading this are going through difficulties where they can't see the end from the beginning. It can be such a comfort looking back at God's track record in our lives. We are a blessed people. God always does things well in the lives of His children. I encourage you to look back at some of your life impossibilities and recall how God worked on your behalf and you can see now that He has always had a plan for you...and still does.

Do remember though that if we don't store Scripture in our hearts and minds, the Holy Spirit may not have as much to work with in the area of reminding. When facing decisions or concerns in our lives, being in the Word is one of the best things we can take time, even extra time, doing. Just remember that God knows the plans He has for each of us. In fact, copy that verse from Jeremiah on something handy so you can read it often. We must remember that God has a plan for each of us that will always be in our best interest. The plans He's revealed to me have usually been in small steps, not large leaps. We have to keep trusting.

Thank you, Father, for being interested in every detail of my life, and for having everything worked out ahead of time so that I can rest in You completely with no struggle. You are precious to me as is Your Spirit and Jesus, Your Son in Whose name I pray...Amen