We always come to a point in our lives when we ask the question, "Who am I?". We ask this question sometimes with no hope that we could ever have a future. Well, at least I did. The expectation today is we have to become someone amazing to be noticed, and if your noticed, you are happy. But is that really how it goes? Do we have to prove that we are happy, or even successful to gain love and popularity?
Everyone knows the verse 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 a HOPE and a FUTURE.' " So why do we all know this verse? Maybe it was engraved into our heads when we were little and we've read it a million times, but have we engraved it into our hearts? Do we really know the true meaning of this verse? Lets take a closer look.
Obviously, God is the one who is speaking this. Anyway, GOD the CREATOR of the whole WORLD who knows your every THOUGHT and every MOVE and says that YOU have a hope and a FUTURE. He knows who YOU ARE and loves every QUIRK and every FUNNY thing about you. I just wanted to clarify that for a second. That alone should give us all the assurance we need to trust that He knows what He's doing. But, just to let us off the hook a little, we are human and we can be pretty dumb sometimes. He knows everything that is going to happen. It kind of reminds me of a movie. God is up there watching us and He can see the next scene and always knows what is going to happen. Yeah, and I bet He laughs sometimes too.
The next part of the verse says, " 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you...". I find it interesting what the dictionary meaning of prosper says: To succeed in material terms; flourish physically. As Christians we know that our reward will be great in heaven (Matthew 5:12), but sometimes life can be tough on earth. So God is reassuring us that we will succeed and flourish not only in heaven, but on the earth according to His will and to what He knows is best.
Then this verse ends with, "...plans to give you a hope and a future.". Not only does God promise to give us a future, but also hope for the future! Because of this we can have hope and joy knowing that God has our backs. Proverbs 23:18, "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off." Although we may not know what that future is, remember that you are still in every scene of the movie.
Another thing to remember is, in the very beginning of time God wanted people to inhabit the whole earth. So then why would He not let us do amazing things for His glory without His help or planning schedule? Job 8:7 says, "Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.". You might think that this is the part where I tell you to sit back, relax and watch God plan out your life. Nope! God wants to use you to do great things for His glory, so suit up. The director can't make the movie without the actors and actresses.
But don't worry about your role or what you are supposed to be doing. God knows what you are meant for. Society will put a title on you and try to tell you who you are. That's when sticking to God's promise becomes vital. We all have a hope and a future and no one could ever take it away. Matthew 10:28 says, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul...". No one can take away the most important and exciting part of our future... heaven. The place with no pain, no sorrow and no death. The place so awesome that we can't even comprehend.
