When I get discouraged and anxious about the future, I can go to the back of my Bible and remind myself that, in the end, I win! So everything is good!
When you know that in the end you win, you don't have to struggle to control your future but simply surrender to knowing that God is in control and His peace comes in and replaces the anxious thoughts and worries.
Jeremiah 29:12-13 gives us wise counsel for how to do that in the following verses, "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
These verses are important to know. For it is in the purest of heart seeking
God's will that He will release whatever it is that you are seeking Him for. In the end, just as Jesus said, "not my will, but Your will" in Luke 22:42 to His Father, we too must want God's will in our situation for His peace to come.
Despite the circumstances of their captivity in a foreign land, Jeremiah said to God's people that God was not through with them. He had a future for them, and it was a hope filled future.
The problem was however, that many of them were trying to control their own future. Others were so worried about their future that they struggled to live in the present. So, Jeremiah gave them this amazing word from God. “‘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.
God wanted them to know that He cared about their future and that He controlled the big picture. God cares about your future as well!
Despite the difficult circumstances you may be facing today, even when it seems that all hope is gone, God has a hope and a future for you. God is for you. He’s not out to get you.
Be sure that you are not seeking to know the future more than you are seeking to know God? When you stop struggling to control the future in your situations and surrender to Christ’s care and control, you will come to know the God who holds your future in His hands.
The Apostle Paul put it like this, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6,7
God already knows what you need and what you want, but He wants you to bring your wants and desires and plans to Him and seek His will and purpose in them to make sure they line up to His will and what He knows is best. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
Hold Fast,
-Bren
Brenda Parsons is a regular contributor to your Tate Record Church Page.
