Day 3 - Jeremiah 29:11-13

I love it when the Bible makes things simple...and the very best is when it gives us a "formula" so we can see how God works in our lives.

As I read the formula in this passage, I think it is worth remembering the situaiton Jeremiah is writing into. The first verse of the chapter reminds us that this message is to people who were in a valley of life, not on a mountaintop. In this season of their lives, they were surviving, not thriving. And God needed to remind them of His larger plan.

Here's how these 3 verses hit me:

"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 a hope and a future."
1. God really has plans for me. Really. He has more confidence in me than I have in myself. He has things in mind for me that my mind is too small to even imagine. Maybe you are wired up like me...analytical. No doubt it serves us well in some circumstances, but it is so limiting at times, isn't it? I ask myself...Do I limit how God will use me? When I consider "What does God have next for me?" do I subconciously limit his answers to only things I could really do on my own?

It's scary to think about where he might take me, but it is scarier to think I might miss out on where he wants to take me.

"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you."
2. God would love to have a conversation about his plans for me. Usually, I talk to other people about my plans instead. I give their feedback more credence than I give God's voice.

You know what strikes me? When God says, "I will listen to you." Among the 6 billion people on earth, God listens to me...personally and intimately. And its not because I'm an American. Not becuase I'm a pastor. Just becasue I'm a person he created and he is really interested in my soul, my relationships, my struggles, and my future.

"You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart."
3. Because of the freedom God gives me, I can completely dismiss God or I can fully engage God...I just can't follow him half-heartedly. At least that is what this passage says to me. To make God's plans for me a "side order" or a "back-up plan" to my own agenda is insulting to him. It's when I seek him "with all of my heart" that I really find out what he has next for me.

So what does he have next for me personally? I'm sorting that out along with all of our church fmaily over the next 21 days. I'm confident he has things in my own spiritual journey, my family life and in my leadership at Suncrest. I'm trying to learn the specifics from God on some of those fronts...on others I'm thankful for the clarity that has come about my future.

I'm confident God wants my wife and kids to have a personal spiritual leader in their home. I'm confident God wants me to love Jesus more tomorrow than I did today and expereince his presence consistently in my life. I'm confident God has in mind for me to be at Suncrest for a long time, but with the mission to make sure Suncrest is always living by faith and never settling in or turning inward. Now I'm praying about the things I lack confidence in. That might be a list for a later post.