Are you a planner? I think everyone is in some way or another. Some people are
low-keyed and just keep a plan in their head. That’s great if it works for you, but I’ve always thought if my head wasn’t attached I’d lose it, so this approach is not the best for myself! Plans really are our expectation of what is to happen. On the extreme side, there is now a whole system of planners and calendars at one of the larger craft store chains. I haven’t looked too closely at what is available but it seems you can color code and use different stickers or symbols to designate your plan for the day/month/year. For me, this may be a bit much because I would have to plan to work on my planner. We have short term plans. My daughter is having Thanksgiving at her house for the first time with several of her husband’s family arriving early in the week. She has had her plan for the food and seating and overnight guests written down for several weeks. There are plans for all kinds of celebrations: birthdays, weddings, holidays – you name it, we’ve learned to celebrate it!! We have long term plans. Ideas for the direction of our own lives, desires for certain goals for those we love, hopes for the paths of our children’s lives, even thoughts for the care of our parents as they age and for our own retirement years. Plans. Lots of plans. They keep us to the task at hand, they help to keep our focus on accomplishing certain steps for the future. Most of us even feel more secure when we have a plan or we know what the plan is.
The first definition given for the word ‘plans’ in WordWeb reads like this:
1. A series of steps to be carried out or goals to be accomplished.
In a previous blog and Bible study, (“Identity Crisis”, see link below), I mentioned how Jeremiah 29:11 was instrumental in the encouragement of my faith very early on. To know that God has a plan for good for His children is comforting. Going back to the beginning of the book of Jeremiah, God uses the truth of His predestined knowledge of His plan for Jeremiah to encourage him for what is to come…
Jer 1:4-5 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."
There are several encouraging observations in these two verses.
… the word of the Lord came to me saying…
Jeremiah was receptive to God’s words. To His direction. I am not a Biblical scholar able to determine whether this was an actual appearing of the Spirit of the Lord. It seems it certainly could have been since there are accounts of God’s word going forth in the Old Testament through His appearance (Ezekiel and Daniel). Also, reading further in this chapter, we are given more information about this encounter. Jer 1:9 Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. But let’s concentrate on the fact that Jeremiah’s heart heard God’s plan. Doesn’t this give us a glimpse of Jeremiah’s relationship with God?
Oftentimes in our relationships, we are not always attentive, which means we don’t always hear. Our minds can be distracted by other things. We don’t always look at the greater picture but instead get side-railed by a number of smaller, less significant things. There are times I can be so focused at the specific task at hand that I don’t even hear my husband as he proposes a question or thought. I assume you can relate to this in some way. How much are you aware of another person speaking to you while your concentration is focused elsewhere?
Jeremiah was attentive to God’s word and because of that, he heard Him. He didn’t just hear God, he listened to what God was saying. Is it possible to hear but not really comprehend? I think so! I think the phrase we use is ‘tuning someone out’. It goes back to the problem of not giving our full attention to something. We are aware of those things in our lives that are truly important to us. Case in point: I can be fully engaged in preparing a meal for family but the minute I hear a grandchild say my name (they call me Mina), you can bet I stop what I’m doing and respond! So, do we hear God’s voice, His calling, and direction given to us by His Spirit? Or are we too engaged in other things to listen?
Consider. Here’s a response to someone’s call for attention that we’ve all used at one time or another – “Not right now, I’m busy”. If Jeremiah had responded similarly to God’s voice, he would have missed the blessing and comfort of knowing the plan God had for him and the nation of Israel.
Jer 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."
Oh wow, just ponder what this verse says! We now have amazing technology that allows parents to ‘see’ their unborn children in utero when they are just the size of a peanut. As they grow, the clarity of a defined face and limbs certainly is a wonderful picture that produces anticipation of meeting your new little baby. But, with all this technology, we can’t really know too much about these sweet babies. What color will their hair be, how tall will they get, what will their temperament be like, what talents or abilities will they present.
It’s clear Who made us, right? Jeremiah 1:5 says, ‘Before I formed you…’ God is the creator of life. And our life is not happenstance. It is purposed. Before He formed us in our mother’s womb, He knew us. God had a plan for us and knew all about us, every last tiny part of us, before we were even a thought in our parents’ minds. Purposed and planned – that’s what our lives are!
Have you seen a child trying to get someone’s attention? We don’t need to get God’s attention, we’ve always had it, from before time began. Think about what it means to know someone. We can just be aware of someone but not really know them. We can know something about an individual but we can never know all things, the deepest part of the heart. We can know someone by acknowledging them but not have a relationship with them. We can have acquaintances but be clueless of situations that may be a part of their lives, we can know how someone acts but not understand the motivation, and we can be familiar with a face or voice but not know the person. God knows us. And… He has a plan.
“And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah heard from God that before he was born, God had chosen him, He appointed him for salvation. I don’t get how God’s mind works but I believe what He says is true, and since He is God and He made us, He can do whatever He wants. This is perhaps a simplistic way to look at the subject of ‘how are some saved and others not’, but I’m content leaning on faith instead of explanations. I’d rather concentrate on those things that we can understand.
Jeremiah was greatly encouraged by God’s words to him as he realized God knew him, meaning He understood the deepest parts of him, and that God had an incredible plan for his life. God went on to reveal that He appointed Jeremiah as a prophet to the nations. God had a very specific plan for him. That plan was to proclaim God!
The Bible reveals to us account after account of the plans God has for His children.
Isa 49:1 Listen to Me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
Isa 49:5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To bring Jacob back to Him, in order that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am honored in the sight of the LORD, And My God is My strength),
Ga 1:15-16a But when He who had set me apart, even from my mother's womb, and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles,
2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness."
Eph 4:11-12 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
God knows His children intimately before they are even born. God has a plan for His children. God has set apart His children for service to bring glory to Himself. I pray you are part of this magnificent plan and are excited to discover where God will use you for His purpose! This truth is certainly something we can be thankful for as we reminisce over our blessings with friends and family this week.
http://thensingsmysoultothee.com/identity-crisis-2/
