God’s Got You Today AND Tomorrow

God’s Got You Today AND Tomorrow

by | Nov 21, 2021 | Uncategorized

Last Thursday, I had the unique opportunity to speak to nearly 900 women at the women’s event at my home church. In fact, I want to give a big hello to those who were at the event and now are a part of my Happy Monday devotional community! Welcome!

It’s been over six years since our church’s last women’s event. In fact, I was the co-leader of that last event in 2015. So, it was pretty surreal that they asked me to return to as a guest speaker.

The theme of the night was “Uncomplicated” since “complicated” is the word that describes most of our lives these days. To honor that theme, I told the audience that I was following the KISS rule or the Keep It Simple, Scripture rule. I taught on just one verse.

It’s a verse that you may be familiar with, but it’s ALWAYS a perfect reminder for all of us. In fact, I’m going to share five powerful promises from that single verse that will encourage you today:

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” -Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

  1. “For I know…”- God already knows everything that we don’t know! I’m not sure what you’ve been overthinking lately, but perhaps you can save yourself some burning brain cells by remembering that God knows everything. Therefore, we can be confident that we don’t need the answers because He has them and He will help us with what we need to know.
  2. “the plans that I have for you…” – God’s plans aren’t like ours. God’s plans are made from His perspective. Here’s an illustration of the difference between God’s perspective and our limited perspective. God sees how everything that we’ve experienced or been through weaves into His eternal purposes.

I’ve learned in my life that there are things that I’ve gone through that weren’t just for me, but because God wanted to use those experiences in the lives of people that I’d never meet. The same goes for you. I promise you that God is using different parts of your lives in places that you’ll never, ever know on this side of eternity.

  1. “plans for good and not for disaster…” – Sometimes, our plans for our lives end up wrecking our peace. However, God’s loving plan for our lives always includes His peace, which is a life of wholeness and wellness for us. In fact, we can use that as a test for our plans: Will what we’re planning lead us toward or away from God’s desire for peace in our lives? If not, we may want to rethink that plan.
  2. “to give you a future…” – We were each created to make a difference! God’s promise is that we will have a legacy when we live with God’s big picture in mind. We can live this out every single time we live and love others like Jesus.
  3. “and a hope.” – God will never abandon us! We will always have Him to hold onto, no matter the circumstances that we face. In fact, the Hebrew word for “hope” is Tikvah, or rope. This is a reference to the story of Rahab in Joshua 3. She was instructed to hang a rope outside of her window so that when the Israelites invaded Jericho, she and her family would be rescued. Rahab didn’t know how God would save her, but she believed that He would. The same goes for us! We may not always know how God will work out the situations in our life, BUT, we can believe and be confident that He will show up for us!

LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW: Which one of these promises is meaningful to you today? I’d love to hear your thoughts about this verse.

This verse has been so precious to me over the past few months of my life and I hope that it’s been a blessing to you.

P.S. If your life has been complicated and you need some hope for the holidays, see below!

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Once upon a 365 days ago…

Once upon a 365 days ago…

by | Jul 24, 2013 | Christian Living/Discipleship

Happy birthday photoIt was exactly a year ago that I woke up on my 40th birthday in a really bad mood.

I hated turning 40. Hated it. Even saying the words, “I’m 40” seemed to stick in my throat. Still does…

In the weeks leading up to my birthday last year, I sensed the likelihood of a meltdown, so I wisely planned a distraction: a partial kitchen remodel. Since I’m not super-handy, I had figured driving back and forth to Home Depot that week would keep me too busy to think about the Big 4-0.

On the morning of my July 24th birthday, I had planned to start painting the cabinet doors. As I mixed paint at 8:15am that morning, I groused to God about reaching this dreaded female milestone. Yet, I also felt guilty for being ungrateful. Afterall, I was alive, right? As I prepped the cabinets, I began to obsess (maybe even panic…) about what might be next in my life. And, what if there wasn’t a “next”? That thought terrified me. I begged God to help me shake off the “40-funk” that was settling into my heart.

At 8:30am, the phone rang. Then, everything changed:

“Barb, you need to meet Life Flight at St. V’s. Your sister-in-law and niece are headed there. They’ve been in an accident. Someone has died, but we don’t know who or in which car.”

Luckily, the hospital’s location is three minutes from my house and I was there within 10 minutes of the phone call. After waiting, I found out that my sister-in-law was alive and my niece was unconscious and in critical condition. Then, sadly, I learned that one of the passengers in the other vehicle had died. All I could do was cry and pray.

It was only 10am…and I was no longer concerned about turning 40.

As we paced through the hours of the day, our brains were in a haze from the overload of information and emotions. Yet, there are certain parts of life that just went on. For instance, it was my birthday, so I still had to get my car registration and tags renewed. At the BMV,  I met saw a woman in line that I had seen at the hospital earlier in the day. Later, I found out her name was Ms. Lucy Oliver. As the battle for life and death circled around us, I had a chance to talk with one of St. V’s beloved employees. Weeks later, I would use her faith-filled testimony in one of my weekend messages.

In the days that followed the accident, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law held their daughter’s hand as her body struggled to survive surgery after surgery. Our immediate and distant family members would travel back and forth to the hospital to see and support in many different ways. Time moved fast and slow – simultaneously.

God spared my beautiful niece, Camie’s life. Over the past year, she’s worked so hard to regain the ability to walk and be mobile. She rocked out her academics and will graduate from high school next spring – an entire year early!  Camie even got her driver’s license this year! Amazing! 365 days ago, I never could have imagined what today would look like.

As I think about the last 365 days of my life, there are so many different storylines to recall. Days of triumph, joy and peace mixed in with days of darkness, pain and confusion. Of course, I wish that there were more of the good days than bad ones, but as I get older, I’ve learned that the keeping score isn’t the point.

Sooooo, now I am 41. Yep, 41. This year, I choose to be grateful for the chance to live out every unknown (sometimes difficult or scary moments). When I remember that God has plans, not problems, I cope with life so much better.

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (New Living Translation) 

As a reforming control-freak, one of my biggest issues is not worrying about the future.  Yet, God’s plans are for me. Whatever problems I am currently navigating are a part of His plan and thankfully, I can’t screw up His plan. Whew.

So, if you’re wondering what I am doing for my birthday this year, I’m repeating the verses in Jeremiah 29:11-13 to myself. Over and over again…

 

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