Have you ever been driving a vehicle with a passenger who doesn’t trust the navigation system?
“Did you put the correct address in?”
(Checks the address) “Why would we be going this way?”
“Is it set to the fastest route?”
(Checks settings) “My way would have been faster!”
Have you experienced this?
The first time it happened to me, I was
not willful (or smart?) enough to heed the satellite instead of the yapping.
And we drove in circles for an extra 30 minutes.
But I learned the lesson.
Today I am thinking about Jeremiah and
David and Paul…and my innate navigation system.
Jeremiah 29:11 is a comforting verse: For
I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, to give
you hope and a bright future.
The Creator of the Universe has plans specifically for each of us? Amazing.
But wait…there’s more!
In Psalm 139, David writes: You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body… All the days planned for me were
written in your book before I was one day old.
The Amplified Bible can be challenging to
read, but I love how it puts Psalm 139:15:
My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in
secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought
[as if
embroidered with various colors].
And this…Romans 8:28 We know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him.
Think about these verses for a minute.
Before you or I made an appearance on this Earth, in
this physical body, we were, essentially, given a plan AND we were embroidered
with various colors AND everything works for our good.
Is that exciting? Does it ring true for you?
How about this take on it – you have a unique, brightly colored self AND a plan for good and
prosperity, an internal, irrefutable navigation system programmed by the One
who creates worlds AND everything is always working out
If you don’t believe, find your favorite kids under 5
and watch them for a few hours. Barring incredibly traumatic situations, they
haven’t yet listened to anyone who is saying, “Are you sure that thing is
programmed correctly??”
I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord…
So today I am thinking about who
I was at 3, 4, 5 years of age. The tow-headed, strong-willed kid who laughed
and skipped and sang at the top of her lungs for no reason. The kid who still
approached life with ease, who had not learned to worry and push, who knew and
embodied exactly who she was.
Do you remember your 5 year old
self? Can you feel that kid? It isn’t easy. Well-meaning adults, with absence
of malice, show/tell us the world is hard and rough and we have to scrape and
fight and protect ourselves and push push push for everything we want and
against everything we don’t want.
We memorize Jeremiah 29:11 and
Psalm 139 and Romans 8:28 in Sunday School…but what we often learn is the exact
opposite, the embodiment of dis-ease.
So what do I believe? Is there a design
for who I am, a plan for wellbeing and prosperity and hope and a bright future,
put in place by my Creator, who also creates all things? Is everything really
working out?
I believe that.
But I want to KNOW it with every fiber of my being. When
someone suggests the navigation system isn’t working, that I should start making
turns and scanning signs and worrying about how to find my way and gripping the
wheel tightly, I want to confidently say that isn’t true. Dis-ease is not the
best path.
How about you? Are you who God made or who the world
shaped? Do you believe everything is always working out? Do you trust there is
a plan for your wellbeing and prosperity and hope or is life all about grinding and pushing?
Tough questions…
We will talk again soon,
BP :)
Beth Painter is, among many other things, a writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the “Think Big focus small” page.
Beth is available to speak to your group about how to make your dreams and desires come to life!
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