Purpose
“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
Did you every play “dress up” as a child? Did you put on costumes, princess dresses, or high heels? Did you pretend to be something important, something pretty, and something that was fun to be? What did you want to be when you grew up?
What about now, do you have a “plan” for your future? Will you go to college, become a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, an artist, or a musician? Do you plan to come back to camp to be a counselor or group leader someday? As a teenager, I can remember having future plans about trips, college, and camp. I can also remember having plans for the weekend, giving myself the opportunity to be with my friends and family and enjoying life.
Did you know that God has plans for you? He has created you for a special purpose. He knows what college you will attend, what job you will have, what man you will marry, and how many children you will have. His plans include those physical details, but they also include a security that only God can bring to our lives and hearts.
He has already decided on the plans for your life and mine. He has already decided to not leave you hanging, guessing, or without. He declares that those future plans are known to Him, and they are plans to move you forward and make the best out of your life. He promises that the plans are not to harm you but to make you a better person.
These promises don’t mean that your purpose in life will be easy or fun all the time – they do mean that you will have hope and a future. By trusting in Christ alone, you are focused on God and choose to let go of the outcomes of this world. Hope and a future in Christ means eternal security, a path that leads to heaven and makes us more Christ-like along the way.
It doesn’t mean that the path is free from pain. It does mean that we are not alone and that our future will be spent in heaven. Sounds like a pretty good plan, right? Maybe we can dress up in Heaven with costumes of gold!
Take away: God creates us with a purpose that is fulfilled throughout our lives. It is important that we trust His direction and guidance. Even when we are having a bad day or don’t understand where the path of life is taking us, trust that God is in charge of where we end up and is working things together for His good.