Seeking After These "Plans"

"'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 a hope and a future...'" - Jeremiah 29:11

This verse has never sat well with me. I'm not completely sure why (I'm usually an extremely optimistic person - as I'm sure many of you would agree), but every time I hear this verse I cringe a little inside and think, "Your plans for hope and prospering only happen if I work hard and earn it for myself."


God says I'm gonna prosper, then I'm taking a nap!


Maybe I've just heard one too many people use it as a cop-out for being lazy or having a negative attitude, or maybe I am just a control freak and don't like that God's plans trump my own plans, or maybe I am just selfish and don't want other people to prosper if they don't earn it...  whatever the case, this verse just tends to bug me.

But in my 10+ years of loving Jesus, I have found that whenever I am irritated by something in the Bible, God continues to brings me back to it until I learn from it.

"...Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.'"

These are the next 3 sentences after the "plans to prosper" verse. How interesting that God says, "my plans are for you to prosper, to have hope, to not be harmed, to live a better story" and then says "this is how you will find my plans".

When I read about Jesus I see a man who I gives and gives and gives... and then says, "but I want your heart" Jesus is our hope. The treasures of heaven is our prosperity. Living a story free of guilt and walking with God is our future. This should cause our hearts to seek God!

When life is hard and you desire hope... do you seek God. When nothing is going right and you need a taste of prospering... do you seek God. When the story of your life is meaningless and insignificant... do you seek God.

Jesus has a greater plan for you; one with hope, purpose, meaning... The question is: are you seeking after Him?