I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” Jer 29:11
God has a personal plan for each one of us. It’s a blueprint that He mapped out before the creation of the world in His intimate knowledge of each one of us. His plan takes into account the gifts and talents that He has endowed us with, and walking in them will bring us the greatest fulfilment and success in life, and ultimately Glory to Him. And it is all about community. God has given talents to us so that areas of need in community are filled and His goodness is perpetuated as we work “as unto the Lord” (Col 3:23) in areas that our particular talent is required.
God declared this hope to His exiled people who were carried away into captivity under Nebuchadnezzar and lived in a society that held none of their beliefs. In the midst of their discomfort and discouragement, He delivers hope for their future. Even in their predicament, God gives them instructions to enjoy life, to build, to marry, to have children and to pray for the prosperity of the cities they dwelt in, until the day He delivered them into freedom. He even told them how long they would be in captivity, a full 70 years, each decade for their disobedience to His Law, but knowing the time of deliverance would full them with hopeful vision for their and their children’s future.
Was this God’s original plan for His people? No. He had warned them through His prophets that unless they obeyed Him, they would go into captivity. So even though the perfect plan of God’s for the nation was diverted, He still was interested in bringing them hope and an expectation of a good future. Please get this, even though His people worshipped other “gods”, were disobedient to Him and did not heed His prophets who spoke His word to them, God was still concerned for their welfare and outcome and in turning their situation around for good. Oftentimes it is in the hard places of life that we begin to seek God and draw near to Him. This appears to be the cycle we see from the history of God’s people, revival through to apostasy and back to revival, yet God never gave His people up, but delivered hope and restoration, right up to the time of Christ.
So I believe that God has an individualised plan for each person, city, country and church but one of the ways we can divert the plan that God has for us is through the words of our mouth.
From the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach is satisfied,
with the product of his lips is he satisfied.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love its use will eat its fruit. Prov 18: 20-21
We can self-prophesy our future by the words of our mouth. God’s word is creative and full of power to bless, and we can choose to speak what He says or we can curse ourselves by the negative words we speak. These negative words also affect our emotions. The Strong’s Concordance gives definition to the word “belly” or stomach in the translation used above as the seat of mental faculties. If we stubbornly believe what the world says about us, or the negative words that have been spoken to us, and do not renew our minds with the truth God has spoken, we will suffer rejection, depression, condemnation and a host of negative emotions. Sons and daughters of God, please think about this very carefully. Jesus has warned us that by our words we will be justified or condemned. We either agree with God or agree with the devil, and the principle here is, we obviously get what God says, or, if in agreement with satan, we open ourselves up to allow his will to be done in our lives. The devil is only happy to oblige us with what we confess and believe. Remember, you will have what you say. We cannot break God’s eternal laws. God is not mocked, what a man sows he will reap. We will either sow blessing or cursing with the very words we speak. Words have creative power, and being made in the image of our Father who created everything we see by His words, our words also have power to create the environment around us.
“For who makes you different from everyone else? (The obvious answer is God) What do you have that you did not receive? (Again the answer is God) And if you did receive it, what makes you boast as if you did not?” 1Cor 4:7
I believe that pride can also divert God’s plan for our lives. If we stubbornly reject the truth of God’s word, our hearts cannot connect with Him on deeper levels, and God will resist us. That’s a scary thought. Humility accepts God’s word with meekness, recognising His amazing Grace poured out on us through the cross of Christ. All good and perfect gifts come to us from our Father in Heaven and recognising this helps us to release those giftings in the world as co-labourers with Jesus. We are humbled when we see the gifting of the Holy Spirit operating through us to bring help, truth and healing to those God connects us with. There is nothing like recognising the anointing upon you for a purpose of God’s plan to come into effect in a given moment of time. You know that it was the Holy Spirit working because you know that the situation was way beyond your ability, and you can give God the glory and rejoice in His goodness.
God has a good plan for you. Believe it and work with Him sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Pray for Him to teach you to be led by Him and to obey with all your heart. His plan for you will involve bringing blessing and establishing the King’s domain on earth. This is why, right from creation, God declared “be fruitful and multiply.”
