“I know the plans…”

Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite verse is Jeremiah 29:11, which reads, “‘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.'”

This is a very commonly known verse with a majority of Christians. Many of us, myself included, can recite this verse by heart. Not to say that that’s a bad thing, but since we hear it so often, we often forget what this verse actually says.

Let’s take a look at it again, piece by piece, to really try to figure out what this verse is saying. We’ll start with the first part:

“‘I know the plans I have for you…'”

We hear this too often as well. God knows the plans for our lives, and so on. But stop and think about that for a minute. God, the creator of the universe, the greater of our world, the creator of you, knows His plans for you. That’s where the next part comes in. We tend to skip over this part, not realizing its importance.

“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord.“

God himself said that He knows the plans for our lives. He has a plan for you, a beautiful plan. We may not know what that plan is, but He does. It’s a scary thought sometimes, not knowing what God has in store for you in the future.

That’s where trust comes in. We are called to trust Him, and we know we can because of the last part:

“‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future.'”

He cares for you. He wants us to prosper and to thrive in our lives. You may be asking yourself, “Sure. But what about all the suffering in the world? Are those people thriving?”

We have to remember that everything that God does is for good. Nothing that is evil comes from God, which is something I talked about in a recent post. There is evil in this world, yes. But God will always persevere in the end.

In the end, God has a plan, a wonderful and perfect plan for each and every one of us. A plan where we will thrive, and plan where we have hope. He will use each and every single one of us to fulfill His Will.

That is why I chose that verse as my favorite. It reminds me that I am not the one in control, but God. Even when things are not going according to my plan, and when I feel like I have hit rock bottom, I remember that God is working through me. He is always with me, and with Him, I can remember that whatever I am going through, I know that with God I will make it through to the end.