Jeremiah 29:11
Some online testimonies I was looking into turned up this scripture verse. It speaks very loud to me and I hope that the verse and what I write about it speaks to you all who are reading.
Jeremiah 29:11, "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."
If I had a dollar for everytime I thought God's actions were not in my best interest. Even recently, I have seen what I believe to be God providing a path to bring me prosperity. As you all know, I applied for this Music Education program at Boco. I applied and unfortunately did not get in. After I recieved the notice and thought about it for a little while I was quite relieved that the decision was what it was. I was really torn between either the option of pursuing Masters in Performance or Music Ed and I dreaded the idea of having to make this huge decision not knowing if the path I chose would be the path for me. I believe this to be God revealing a little bit of His plan for me. Now I am really convinced that a career in performance is where God wants me to be and I feel assured that it will bring me prosperity to my life in the future.
That particular example does not really do this scripture full justice though. I think that in our darkest moments is when scripture is most profound. A lot of people believe that if God were truly a God of love and a God that cares for His children, He would not allow certain things to happen or He would have stopped something from occurring. I was listening to a testimony of a woman who had gotten into a car accident with her four grandchildren and two daughters. All of her grandchildren survived as did the youngest daughter but the oldest daughter (named Bambi) died twenty-four hours later. She said that even though the tragedy was so painful and so devastating, she had still not lost hope and faith in the Lord because of what Christ had accomplished on the cross. Because Christ atoned for the sins of humanity and paid the price for it with his life, we now have the assurance and hope of eternal life in Heaven. It is extraordinary to me that this woman was filled with such an assurance in God in the face of such a great tragedy. It encourages me, even in those times of anger, frustration or despair, when our self gets shaken through to its very core to not lose faith and hope in what God has promised us. Philippians 3:14 says "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus". Despite what the world tells us or maybe despite what we may tell ourselves, God calls us to keep on in the faith and to always remember where we are striving go. It is through Christ that we all have the gift of eternal life with him in Heaven.
The second testimony I was listening to was a man who was studying in a Doctoral Dental program by day and selling drugs and engaging in permiscuous sexual escapades by night. He had become so engulfed by all these things that he got expelled from school four months prior to graduation. He continued on in his lifestyle until twelve federal drug agents came pounding at his front door. He was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. During that time, a number of unexpected things happened. The first was him being called to the nurses office only to discover that he was HIV positive. Convinced that he had been sentenced to prison and then seemingly sentenced to death within the span of a little over a month, he began to feel beyond saving. Then one day, while passing a garbage can back to his cell, something got his eye. It was a bible and for the first time in years he began to read it. As he began reading and searching, one night as he was lying in his bunk, he noticed that something was scribbled on the bottom of the top bunk above him. It was Jeremiah 29:11. He finally decided to make the choice and abadon his luxurious lifestyle, to live as a follower of Christ. After serving his prison sentence, he enrolled in Bible school and became a professor at the school he once studied in. If you met this man years ago and you were in the room with him as he was in the middle of a drug deal and told him what would become of his life within the next couple of years, he would have laughed at you. Time in prison hardly sounds like something we would want God to put us through not to mention getting HIV. But I have seen through my experiences and friend's experiences that it is not God's intention to harm us or perform wicked deeds upon us. For the man, prison and HIV were the consequences of his sins but left knowing that God was working through him throughout that time and when he left prison he would be living a prosperous and holy life committed to knowing the Lord.
God committs Himself to those He loves (which is everyone). Sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel or where God is leading you or how this situation could possibly be helping me in the long run. The truth is that God wants nothing more than the best for us and what God gives us, he gives us to give us hope and a prosperous future.
God Bless.
Jeremiah 29:11, "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."
If I had a dollar for everytime I thought God's actions were not in my best interest. Even recently, I have seen what I believe to be God providing a path to bring me prosperity. As you all know, I applied for this Music Education program at Boco. I applied and unfortunately did not get in. After I recieved the notice and thought about it for a little while I was quite relieved that the decision was what it was. I was really torn between either the option of pursuing Masters in Performance or Music Ed and I dreaded the idea of having to make this huge decision not knowing if the path I chose would be the path for me. I believe this to be God revealing a little bit of His plan for me. Now I am really convinced that a career in performance is where God wants me to be and I feel assured that it will bring me prosperity to my life in the future.
That particular example does not really do this scripture full justice though. I think that in our darkest moments is when scripture is most profound. A lot of people believe that if God were truly a God of love and a God that cares for His children, He would not allow certain things to happen or He would have stopped something from occurring. I was listening to a testimony of a woman who had gotten into a car accident with her four grandchildren and two daughters. All of her grandchildren survived as did the youngest daughter but the oldest daughter (named Bambi) died twenty-four hours later. She said that even though the tragedy was so painful and so devastating, she had still not lost hope and faith in the Lord because of what Christ had accomplished on the cross. Because Christ atoned for the sins of humanity and paid the price for it with his life, we now have the assurance and hope of eternal life in Heaven. It is extraordinary to me that this woman was filled with such an assurance in God in the face of such a great tragedy. It encourages me, even in those times of anger, frustration or despair, when our self gets shaken through to its very core to not lose faith and hope in what God has promised us. Philippians 3:14 says "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus". Despite what the world tells us or maybe despite what we may tell ourselves, God calls us to keep on in the faith and to always remember where we are striving go. It is through Christ that we all have the gift of eternal life with him in Heaven.
The second testimony I was listening to was a man who was studying in a Doctoral Dental program by day and selling drugs and engaging in permiscuous sexual escapades by night. He had become so engulfed by all these things that he got expelled from school four months prior to graduation. He continued on in his lifestyle until twelve federal drug agents came pounding at his front door. He was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison. During that time, a number of unexpected things happened. The first was him being called to the nurses office only to discover that he was HIV positive. Convinced that he had been sentenced to prison and then seemingly sentenced to death within the span of a little over a month, he began to feel beyond saving. Then one day, while passing a garbage can back to his cell, something got his eye. It was a bible and for the first time in years he began to read it. As he began reading and searching, one night as he was lying in his bunk, he noticed that something was scribbled on the bottom of the top bunk above him. It was Jeremiah 29:11. He finally decided to make the choice and abadon his luxurious lifestyle, to live as a follower of Christ. After serving his prison sentence, he enrolled in Bible school and became a professor at the school he once studied in. If you met this man years ago and you were in the room with him as he was in the middle of a drug deal and told him what would become of his life within the next couple of years, he would have laughed at you. Time in prison hardly sounds like something we would want God to put us through not to mention getting HIV. But I have seen through my experiences and friend's experiences that it is not God's intention to harm us or perform wicked deeds upon us. For the man, prison and HIV were the consequences of his sins but left knowing that God was working through him throughout that time and when he left prison he would be living a prosperous and holy life committed to knowing the Lord.
God committs Himself to those He loves (which is everyone). Sometimes it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel or where God is leading you or how this situation could possibly be helping me in the long run. The truth is that God wants nothing more than the best for us and what God gives us, he gives us to give us hope and a prosperous future.
God Bless.