You know this scripture. You've heard it a few hundred times.
Jeremiah 29:11
New International Version (NIV)
11 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.
What does it mean to you? Is this encouraging to you? I know for a while that I had some doubts about God's plan for my family because of my own lack of perspective. As my wife and I were on this journey we encountered frustration, depression, tension, feeling lost, defeated and then all of a sudden things started to change. We realized that my job as a Marine was taking it's toll on our spiritual lives together. I wasn't leading worship much and she was not getting to volunteer. We had become so busy with everything else that we weren't spending time together in God's presence. I felt like we had no hope. No future.
1.The Change:Pray First
What changed was us wasn't a huge spiritual mystery. It was just simply a case of surrender and let God rid of us our fears. When this dawned on us we took a spiritual inventory and realized we needed to just draw closer to God together. So we started first with our prayer life. We made the intentional effort of praying before everything and I do mean EVERYTHING! When we woke up, pray. When we had our breakfast, pray! When I left the house for work,pray! Almost immediately we both began to see a change in our attitudes and in our marriage. God began to whisper that what he had promised would be fulfilled! That moment of "light bulb" went off:
New Living Translation (NLT) Matt 6:31-33
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
2. Trust God: Don't let fear rule you.
The very first thing happens when you have change in your life isn't what you think. It's fear. Is this really God!? Is this right for my family? Where are we going to live? What will I do ? What will my girls DO!? AGGGHHH!? Then a still small voice speaks and you calm down and breathe in. Jesus reminds in Matthew's gospel that if we just Seek First God's way of doing things in our lives that all these other things will be taken care of!
So in this moment. Breathe. Rest. Recharge and then be relentless in pursuing God. Things will not always happen in your time, but they will happen. God is faithful.We had to go through some strange stuff to get where we are now. Lost a solid job with benefits. Had a monumental failure. Had to move in with our in -laws. Pregnant with our 3rd child and it all started to feel hopeless but then it was as is if we just don't give up and don't give in just remain faithful, pray first, and seek first its going to work out. Then all of a sudden, it did. We started getting hints of a blessing on the way. We stayed faithful. We had to just cast fear aside and speak what God wants to do is bless us. So in your moment doing all you can do to stand and stay strong , do it!
3. Worship God with all your heart,mind, and strength.
From my perspective I have always just turned to worship. I know this seems odd, but for me. Just getting time alone with God and singing with abandon and just declaring who God is in my life makes me feel closer to God's heart. So if you are going through a season of doubt and change it might be time to take spiritual inventory. Examine and be honest with yourself. The road to we took was winding and often filled with dangers to just give up. So focus on his presence and not your problem. Fix yourself on God's will and not on your fear.
Let me finish with this. My wife took a the posistion of Family Life Director and we moved to the small town of Port St. Joe, Fl but we believe that God has BIG things here for us. God's story for our lives is in a new chapter. This was my wife's dream posistion. What's your story going to look like?
