Jeremiah 29:11 – Far More Life

Let Go…Find Joy

I recently read this quote by Rachel Marie Martin: Sometimes you have to let go of the picture of what you thought life would be like and learn to find joy in the story you are actually living. The same sentiment is shared in the Bible:

People can make all kinds of plans, but only the Lord’s plan will happen…The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. (Proverbs 19:21 & 23, NCV)

Let go…find joy: embracing this change of perspective is far more life!

When life is not going as we would like, we can have joy because the Lord’s plan for us is still in place. When our hope is in Him, nothing can steal our joy. Jesus suffered more than we ever will, yet He held on to that truth:

He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. (Hebrews 12:2, GW)

I cannot imagine experiencing joy in the midst of the suffering Jesus endured. But He focused on the outcome, a relationship with us. Far more life accepts the pain and suffering of this life by tapping into limitless joy through faith in Christ. God promises that one day our suffering will end, but our joy will continue for eternity:

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. (Psalm 16:11 & Acts 2:28, NIV)

Even when we face injustice, God offers us joy:

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:9-11, NIV)
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7, NIV)

God’s plans and purposes prevail over every sin committed against us. He helps us through every difficulty and strengthens us to stay on His path. Far more life finds joy by pursuing God’s purposes. Because we do not always understand His purposes, we are tempted to doubt them. Many Christians find encouragement in this promise of God’s protection and provision:

“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, NIV)

This promise to the Israelites was followed by 70 years of captivity! They did not experience the prosperous life they envisioned right away. But, as they waited, God’s joy was always available in the story they were living.

Mary’s life did not unfold like she had pictured. Her future marriage was threatened by an unexpected pregnancy. Many of her friends and family probably did not believe the child she carried was miraculously conceived. But Mary let go of the life she had pictured and found joy in the story God asked her to live, proclaiming:

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. (Luke 1:46-49, NIV)

Our natural tendency is to avoid or eliminate anything negative: pain; hard circumstances; broken dreams; and dashed hopes. We would happily rescue ourselves and our loved ones from unwanted life situations.

But if Mary had been rescued, Jesus would not have come to earth to pay for our sins.

If the patriarch Joseph had been rescued from slavery, millions of people would have faced starvation (Genesis 37-47).

If David had been rescued from Saul’s pursuit, we would not have many of the Psalms that remind us to rely on God (I Samuel 16 – 2 Samuel 1).

Hebrews 11 contains many more accounts of people whose lives did not go as planned. But as they followed God’s storyline and purpose, they found greater joy than they had imagined possible!

My life has not gone as I expected. I have not worked in the field I dreamed about. I did not get married or have children when I thought I would. I have experienced loss and disappointment that I would not have chosen. The future will not be what I envision, either. But with each departure from my plan, I have a choice: will I let my heart keep longing for my story or will I joyfully pursue the story God has for me? Sometimes the choice is hard, but I know far more life is only found pursuing God’s story.

Happy are the pure in heart; they will see God! (Matthew 5:8, GNT)

God has been faithful to me. He has shown me over and over that His way is best, His Word is trustworthy, His character is unchanging, and His love is unconditional. As I live the story He planned for me, I find joy in His friendship, peace in His presence, and hope in His promises. I find far more life as I live out each day of His story. You can find joy and far more life by living out His story for you!

Sisters,
Are there things you expected in life that have not come to be? Have you let go of them? If not, what do you fear will happen if you do?
How have you found joy in the unexpected aspects of your life?
If you are not experiencing joy, what are you feeling? What do you believe about yourself or God that supports that feeling? Is that belief consistent with what God’s Word says? If not, pray and ask Him to help you recognize His truth and embrace it rather than the false belief that is hurting you.
What aspect of God’s character helps you trust Him and His story for your life?
Throw yourself wholeheartedly into pursuing God’s story — and enjoy far more life!
-Shari

Spiritual Prosperity

I have seen a meme stating that in the future when we have a bad day we will refer to it as a 2020. I will not be surprised if that becomes true! This has been a shocking and challenging year, with wave after wave of novel and unexpected challenges.

Many have speculated these events are signs that Christ’s return is approaching. I do not know if these are part of the prophesied “birth pains” (Matthew 24:8) signaling the beginning of the end of this world, but I do know that every day moves us closer to Jesus’ return!

I also know these challenges do not have to crush our spirits. Far more life
enables us to spiritually and emotionally prosper, even when we face circumstances
that devastate our finances, health, livelihood, comfort, and more. Consider this
perspective from the Old Testament prophet, Habakkuk:

Fig trees may not grow figs, and there may be no grapes on the vines.
There may be no olives growing and no food growing in the fields.
There may be no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the barns.
But I will still be glad in the Lord; I will rejoice in God my Savior.
The Lord God is my strength.
He makes me like a deer that does not stumble so I can walk on the steep mountains. (Habakkuk 3:17-19, NCV)

All the resources listed in these verses — figs, grapes, olives, sheep, and cattle — were important for sustaining life in ancient Israel. The situation in these verses is dire. They reflect a shortage of food, drink, shelter, income, security, and prosperity. Even making the required sacrifices to remain in good standing with God would be very difficult under these conditions. Habakkuk is describing a situation that is overwhelmingly hopeless from a human perspective.

But he looks beyond the circumstances to focus on God’s character. God brings joy. God offers relationships. God makes us strong. God supplies what we need to successfully traverse difficult situations. Through God, we can prosper in any difficulty.

I have found that hard times reveal our mindset about God, whether we believe He is good or not good.

If we believe God is good, we trust that He is in control and has a plan (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 1:11). We understand He is faithful, kind, and working everything — even these hard circumstances — for our good (Romans 8:28-30). We know He loves us and is carrying us through this difficulty (Romans 8:35-39), giving us all that we need (Philippians 4:19). We are confident He would never ask us to sacrifice more than He has already sacrificed for us (John 15:13). We are certain that Jesus was God’s Son who died to pay the penalty for our sins, offering us an eternal relationship with God (John 3:16). We understand this earth and these difficulties are temporary, unlike our eternal home in Heaven (Revelation 21:1-4). While we long to be there, we believe God has prepared good deeds for us to do that will fulfill His plan (Ephesians 2:10). Believing God is good brings us hope, peace, and far more life, even in the midst of suffering and hardship.

If we believe God is not good, we think he is aloof and uninvolved in the affairs of earth. We may think He is laughing at us from Heaven as we try to navigate our way through the mine field of life He has set up for us. We question His love and feel very alone, doubting His motives, character, and promises. We think He asks too much of us and offers us little to nothing in return. We long for death as an escape from this misery and may be angry at God for making us remain in overwhelming situations when He has the power to rescue us. We might believe that Jesus died for our sins, but we often think God is punishing us for them as well. We believe we are trapped, hopeless, and helpless; we may see others enjoying far more life, but we do not think that is God’s will for us.

What determines which mindset we adopt? In part, the key is whether we interpret God’s Word through our circumstances or interpret our circumstances through God’s Word. We tend to believe what we have experienced. But our experiences do not reveal the whole picture. Paul writes,

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (I Corinthians 13:12)

When we look in a mirror, our view is limited. And sometimes it is cloudy or fuzzy. Similarly, our spiritual view during this life is limited and unclear. We cannot see the bigger picture or the intricate details of God’s plan. And we have an enemy, Satan, who feeds us false interpretations of what we can see. He wants us to doubt God and question His goodness; if he can keep us from seeing God clearly, he can keep us from far more life. But when we prayerfully analyze each situation where we believe God is not good, asking Him to help us see what is true and how His Word is right, we gain new understanding of ourselves, others, and God. We can replace our doubts with confidence that He is good and does good. Our faith prospers!

I am thankful that Habakkuk interpreted his circumstances through God’s Word and reminds us to do the same. I am thankful that I can experience spiritual prosperity — far more life — whatever happens in 2020…and beyond.

Sisters,
What makes you think of a situation as bad?
What is your spiritual and emotional response to bad situations?
Think of a recent difficulty you encountered. Did you believe God was good or not good?
Ask God to help you clearly see the truth about Himself, yourself, and others in that difficulty.
Thank God that you can experience far more life no matter what happens!
-Shari

Waiting Well

Wait. This is a word most of us dislike hearing. We want what we want when we want it. We may be tempted to think that having our wants met will make us satisfied with life. But in reality, waiting well for God’s perfect plan and timing is far more life.

These verses remind us of the benefits of waiting for God, why it is good to wait for Him.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. (Psalm 33:20, NIV)
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. (Psalm 40:1-3a, NIV)
For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. Indeed, the Lord is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed. (Isaiah 30:18, NET)

God blesses us when we wait for Him. He helps us. He protects us. He meets our needs. He brings us happiness and fulfillment. He treats us compassionately. He delivers justice. But sometimes we think He is slow to bless. It seems like He doesn’t hear our requests. We become impatient waiting for His answer or action. Biblical writers had the same struggle.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3, NIV)
Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. (Psalm 38:15, NIV)
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. (Micah 7:7, NIV)

We can rest assured that God always hears His children. He will always answer in His perfect timing. But His timing is not always our timing. We cannot choose whether or not we wait. We can only choose how we wait. A friend has explained patience to her young children as “waiting well.” I like the honest simplicity of that phrase. Choosing to wait well is choosing far more life.

Waiting well focuses on God rather than ourselves. It starts in the heart. Consider these Biblical descriptions of waiting well:

My eyes are ever looking to the Lord for help, for he alone can rescue me. (Proverbs 25:15, TLB)
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14, NIV)
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5, NIV)
Lord, we are living the way your laws command us to live. We are waiting for you to act. We want your honor and fame to be known. (Isaiah 26:8, NIRV)

Sometimes we are waiting for answers. Sometimes we are waiting for things to happen or for things to end. We get frustrated at not knowing when our waiting will end. (Have you ever begged God, “I’ll wait patiently to find out WHAT you will do if I just know WHEN you will answer.” I have. But He — wisely — didn’t believe me.) Waiting well remembers that God knows everything: what is best for us; what we need; when we need it. Do we believe this? Do we trust Him enough to wait well?

“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, NIV)

He has a plan for us, a plan that brings good at the right time. When we don’t trust Him, we impatiently fight for control of the steering wheel. Waiting well is trusting God to be the driver in our lives. Didn’t He create us? Didn’t He already meet our biggest need through Jesus’ death and resurrection? Remembering God has already secured our eternal destination helps us trust Him with the details of our earthly journey. We can embrace far more life — waiting well beside Him — in each hill and valley we encounter. He is trustworthy.

Our expectations also keep us from waiting well. We can be like children impatient for Christmas morning to arrive; the closer it gets, the harder it is to wait well. Children anticipate the joy and excitement of discovering what is beneath the wrapping paper. They are certain what is coming is better than what they have now. We, too, convince ourselves what we have now is not as good as what is coming. We can miss far more life today by anticipating far more life will be better in the future. Waiting well looks to the future — especially our future in heaven — eagerly and expectantly while fully embracing today. Whether today brings answers or more waiting, whether it is filled with sorrow or joy, it is always an opportunity to live far more life. God has planned each day for us and as the perfect next step on our journey with Him. He is with us, giving us all we need for today. In fact, His Word instructs us:

…Make the most of every moment and every encounter. (Colossians 4:5b, VOICE)

Waiting well requires us to be engaged in today as we anticipate the future He has for us. He is working around us. He is working inside of us. Enjoying today while waiting well for tomorrow is far more life.

Sisters,
Are you generally patient or impatient?
What are you tempted to trust in besides God? Yourself? Others?
In what areas are you fighting for control of the steering wheel, not trusting God’s plans for you?
How does impatience for the future rob you of far more life today?
Praise God for this day and commit to walking in far more life with Him!
-Shari