JEREMIAH 29:11-14 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LIFE WILL NOT UNFOLD AS WE THOUGHT. Dreams shattered. Expectations fell short. Desires unfulfilled. Plans irrevocably changed. Unexpected disappointments occurred. Aspirations and goals never realized. These are just some of the “fruit” produced in our lives when we think we are sovereignly in control of our lives from what we do, what we pursue, what we want, and go about living as if we are the final word on how our lives unfold. Breaking news!!! Life will not unfold as we thought it would and we are not sovereign over anything or anyone.
As these realities grip us, we may respond in one of two ways. The first one is not good and dishonors the Lord. We complain, maybe even cry out, “Life isn’t fair. I don’t deserve all this disappointment, pain, and sorrow.” And I am not talking about non-Christians. If this defines us when life goes south and not the direction we want, and we complain, we need a basic course of theology and the human condition. We do deserve disappointment, pain and sorrow in life, and a lot more. We deserve God ‘s wrath. And the life isn’t fair statement? What isn’t fair is the innocent Son of God suffering for guilty sinners! Don’t be in the complaining crowd when it comes to life. To do so puts us acting like unbelievers who know nothing of God’s undeserved mercy, grace, and love.
Our second possible response when life does not unfold like we thought or planned is to cling to the scripture of the day. This response honors the Lord. We find within its words God’s plans toward us, and the promises of God for us. Concerning the former, it is God’s plans that unfold in our lives, and they are always good, wise, full of hope, and here is the great part – His plans are far, far, far better than anything we plan. Hold on to this truth from the God who cannot lie. He is working out His plans in our lives, and they are the best for us.
There is another truth in this passage, for our encouragement when life doesn’t pan out as we thought, in the promise of fellowship with the Lord – “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord”. Do we know when the sweetest fellowship with the Lord occurs? It is in the darkest of times in this life. It is when pain, sorrow, loss, and all earthly means of comfort fail us. In those seasons, the Lord draws near, and we rejoice in our suffering, and taste the goodness of the Lord like never before as His plan, not ours, unfolds in our lives.
It is certain, life will not unfold as we planned or plan. Rejoice that it didn’t or doesn’t. God’s plan is always the best plan!
PRAYER: Father, forgive me in those times I plan and act as if I am sovereign over my life.
REFLECTION: How we respond when life unfolds not as we planned reveals our spiritual condition.