SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1147

“Hope and a Future”

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

Do you ever feel that you are trapped in a dry and parched land? Do you feel you are languishing there without hope?

Does it seem that everything you have planned and dreamed for has stalled and all but died on the vine? David was in such a place when he penned Psalms 63 and 42.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. – Psalm 63:1

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation – Psalm 42:5

We have plans for our life and God has plans for our life. He will not abandon us. It is a blessed thing when we seek Him and trust Him with our planning.

For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” – Jeremiah 31:25

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. – Proverbs 16:3

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. – Proverbs 16:9

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. – Proverbs 19:21

God’s plans are for our welfare and He loves us enough to thwart our plans that He knows will do us harm.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

God’s plans are to give us a future and a hope in this life and for eternity with Him. This promise is for those who accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. – Psalm 33:18-22

Commit your plans to Him. Seek His presence continually. Set your hope and trust in Jesus alone.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. – Romans 15:13