The Plans I Have For You
“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
Right now you may be thinking, this is all great but I don’t necessarily feel like I have heard God speak to me about any doors opening or opportunities being presented to me. Maybe you have had a few dreams, ideas and things presented in the past but they went nowhere and you found yourself very disappointed. Maybe you have given up even asking or seeking Gods direction and vision for your future due to missed opportunities or unfulfilled promises.
I believe we can all identify at some level with places in our heart that haven’t always ended up looking the way we had hoped or desired. The challenge here, is that we don’t give up on dreaming and walking through doorways of opportunities that God has for us.
Satan’s goal is to use, insecurity, disappointments and fears to keep us from growing and living a full, prosperous and joyful life in Christ. God wants to give you greater vision of who He is and the plans He has for you. He wants you to hear His voice calling you and giving direction for your every step (Isaiah 40:3).
So maybe today is about just posturing yourself before the Lord and sharing the deepest places of your heart. Could it be that you have just managed to “work around” the unfulfilled dreams, and doors you thought were to be opened only to feel like they were shut before you and instead of presenting all this to the Lord you just decided to believe you missed it.
It’s right here in this place we can find ourselves responding much like King David, making assumptions and presumptions of the Lord that can lead us to a place of defeat or misinterpretation (1 Samuel 30). I love David’s posture in asking the question “should I… " the Lord’s response was pursue you will succeed. However, David finds himself in a place of assumption in 1 Chronicles 21:30. David had a desire, a dream to be the one to build the Temple for God, but because he was unable to inquire God out of fear, he assumed He would just build the house of God and that this would be pleasing to God.
Long story short you can read the account in chapter 22, God isn’t impressed with David’s assumption and speaks to him to tell him that indeed his assumption was incorrect and that God would give him a Son, Solomon who would be the one to fulfill the dream of building a house for God.
We tend to make assumptions of our own when things don’t turn out the way we hope or desire. This is the place where we need to continue to “inquire of the Lord”, He alone knows the timing, season and outcome of the situation. Let’s not fall into the trap of making assumptions or presumptions based on circumstances or desires that may or may not be aligned with Gods plans and purposes for our lives.
Today’s Prayer: Lord, I praise you for inviting me into your eternal purpose and design for my life. I confess I don’t always discern correctly or see accurately the plan and purposes you have for me. Forgive me for allowing any hint of discouragement or disappointment to keep me from pursuing you for dreams and visions for the direction of my life. Grant me the ability to dream with you again. Restore my hope in you for the direction and opportunities of my life. Give me increased grace to “inquire of the Lord” in every step of the journey.
Today’s Challenge: Spend time daring to dream and receive vision for God sized direction for your life. Ask God if there is anything new on the horizon that He would like you to partner with Him in. Make any adjustment to get back into alignment with His promises over your life. Repent for any assumptions and be willing to humble yourself in “asking” again.
