What are your plans?

So the question is what are your plans today? What are your plans for the future? How does God factor into that? Have you taken your plans to the Lord in prayer? 

These are just a few thoughts that came to me, a few questions. God has taken me on an amazing journey and it's caused me to rethink my own plans. It seems through a series of challenges, and turns of events, I have slowly over time yielded up my human plans one by one to Jesus. And I think He wants us at the place where we are completely submitted to his plan. 

Many of us as believers are familiar with the verse from Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 29:11
[1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)]
11 For I know the thoughts, that I have thought towards you, saith the Lord, even the thoughts of peace, and not of trouble, to give you an end, and your hope.
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But let us continue to read a little more and see what the next two verses say:
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12 Then shall you cry unto me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hear you,
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, because ye shall seek me with all your heart.
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So if we cry to the Lord for His plan and His thoughts, He promises to hear us. We must call on the Name of Jesus! 
If you seek Jesus with all your heart, not some of it, but all, then He promises you will find Him. He has already found you first. But now He wants you to seek Him! Find Him in your diligence of prayer and in surrendering your own plans to Him. 

I have recently come to discover something about myself: I have no real plans of my own anymore! I am already doing what I feel called to do. And if I were to die tomorrow, I would be grateful for the honour and privilege of what I have been given in this life and the ability to serve, teach, and lead others. 

My earthly and personal ambitions are at an all-time low. It seems God has brought me to this place. I no longer care what happens to my previous ideas and plans. They have been surrendered to Jesus. He knows best, and cares deeply for me, and loves me beyond any normal love I could possibly comprehend. Because of this, I have felt completely comfortable dying to my own plans, even plans that seemed good at the time. 

I want nothing more than to keep serving Jesus. And I have no other goal. I am free of those troubling, unreachable things we all seem to want from time to time. My ambitions are very real. I want to learn and grow in Jesus. Develop a deeper understanding of Scripture. I want to keep blessing and serving others, especially those of our local church. I want to pierce through darkness with whole-hearted worship in Spirit and Truth!

What seems to be important, but is less so now, I can part with. I trust God that He may, or may not add to me things I had hoped for. But those hopes are not greater than my obedience to His call. He will establish me in my hopes. But I must give all my plans to Him, and let His thoughts and plans guide me. 

In the context of Jeremiah 29, we see that the Jews were to be exiled for 70 years before their captivity would end and their hope would be restored. So it is with us. Are we willing to wait for God's plans? Are we willing to yield the years to Jesus? 

Whatever it is God has begun in me, it is a good work. He will perform it until His return. But that work has taken years to truly accomplish. Hopes are not greater than obedience. 

So trust Jesus in this season. Let His plan take precedence over your own. Give your hope to Him for safekeeping. I did that. I haven't regretted it. Now I can honestly say that I have no other plans, but to keep standing for Jesus in the ministry He has given me. It is no strength of my own.... It is the power of the Holy Spirit that enables me to stand each and every day. This phase of my walk has been over 5 years and I enjoy it thoroughly. I may not see my hope for years... like the Jews in Jeremiah 29. But as long as my hopes and plans are in Jesus's care, I am fully satisfied. For now, I just follow the steps He has placed in front of me. No other plan but His. 
Blessings!
Pastor Curtis.

 Feb 19/14
12:42am