Good Plans

After experiencing the grace of God during these last few weeks, I am convinced now, more than ever, that God's plans are always good. Believe me when I say that life doesn’t always feel good. Our bodies might not feel good. Our circumstances may not seem good. But regardless of all of that, God is still good. And…His plans for us are always good.

“...For 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…” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)

Unfortunately, we live in a broken world. We live in a place where we must experience things like pain, heartache, infirmity, and even death. But, does the existence of these things reflect the nature of our God? Absolutely not.

The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. (Psalms 145:9 NKJV)

You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes. (Psalms 119:68 NKJV)

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. (Luke 18:19 NKJV)

God is good.

According to Jesus, God is the only one that is good. He is good, even when we experience the bad. And yes, I know that this is often hard for us to understand. Because how can a good God allow all of this bad stuff that we are surrounded by? And, if He is so good, then why aren’t our lives good? Why do we have to experience bad, or unfavorable, circumstances?

The ruler of this world is not good.

In fact, the ruler of this world, Satan, is the opposite of good.

The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. (John 12:31 NLT)

'This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. (Revelation 12:9 NLT)

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT)

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44 NLT)

We must wake up and understand this…our adversary, the devil, rules the earth. According to 1 Peter 5:8, he “prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” And how does he devour us? According to the above scriptures from the books of John and Revelation, through lies and, therefore deception.

The enemy is constantly lying to us. And most of the time, we have no idea. You see, Satan is not a man that stands in front of us chanting lies. No, he speaks to us through our own thoughts.

Have you ever thought that God didn’t love you?

Have you ever thought that God’s intentions towards you were bad?

Have you ever been afraid to walk through life (live or rest), because you thought that something bad or unfavorable would happen to you?

Do you feel the need to be in control all the time?

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7 NKJV)

You must understand the heart of your Father towards you. He has given you the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. If you have thoughts that contradict this truth…understand that they are not from God.

The enemy is powerless, so all he can do is lie.

He can’t tear the promises of God away from us. He can’t stop the work of God in our lives. And He most certainly can’t thwart the plan of God. His only trick is deception. And we must understand this…

The enemy can’t take the promises of God away from us, but he can trick us into thinking that the promises of God aren’t true.

The enemy can’t stop the work of God in our lives, but he can deceive us so that we stop the work of God in our lives.

The enemy can’t thwart the plan of God, but he can deceive us so that we stop pursuing the plan of God.

Do you see how this works?

The enemy must do his dirty work through us. He opposes the Kingdom of God through us.

The only question is will we let him?

Will we accept the lies of the enemy? Or will we believe the truth of the word of God?

God’s plan is always good.

And as His children, we must begin to hold on to this truth. If you’ve followed my personal journey for any amount of time, you know that I have struggled with unfavorable circumstances. I have had my ups and downs…but there has always been one constant in my life, and that is the love of my Father. Regardless of my storms, regards of my trials, regardless of my tribulations…the grace of God has always carried me. He has never let me down.

Now, does that mean that He has always answered every prayer? Absolutely not. According to our Savior…there are just some things that we must endure in life.

“...I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT)

We must endure sorrow, we must endure trials…but still, we can have His peace. And still, we can enjoy the good plans that God has for us.

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 (NLT)

This is where I am in my journey with God. I may be in pain, I may not know what lies around the corner, but God is still good, and I will enjoy the beautiful, good plan that He has for my life. I will enjoy the amazing husband that I have been blessed with. I will enjoy my beautiful children that I have been blessed with. I will enjoy this beautiful creation and all of his generous gifts. I will live my life to the fullest in purpose, because what’s the point of worrying about anything else?

I want you to pause for a moment to read Matthew 6:25-34. It’s a long passage, so I won’t include it in its entirety here, but the point is that worrying is pointless.

Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Matthew 6:27 NLT

There is no point in worrying about what may happen or not happen. The fact is that you can’t control your life, but your Heavenly Father has all control. Regardless of what you are going through, and regardless of what your situation looks like, He has good plans for your life.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28 NLT)

God causes all things to work according to His plan.

Even your mistakes. Even the enemy’s attacks.

Did you know that? Did you know that even when you stray in disobedience. And even when you allow the enemy a foothold into your life…God will still cause it to work for your good?

This is how the grace of God works in our lives!

But the Lord ’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken. (Psalms 33:11 NLT)

It doesn’t matter where you are right now. It doesn’t matter how many mistakes you’ve made. It doesn’t matter if you’ve believed the lies of the enemy for way too long. The grace of God still covers your life! He still has good plans for you. Today, make the decision to turn to Him. Choose His love. Choose His truth. Believe in His goodness. And watch as He reveals the good plans that He has for your life.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me, and thank you for creating me with a beautiful, good plan in mind. Today, I have been reminded that your will for me is power, love, and a sound mind. And I have been reminded that anything contrary to that is a lie from the enemy. Today, I am choosing to fix my eyes on you. I will fix my eyes on your Kingdom and the purpose that you have created me for. I will follow you, even when I don’t understand. And I will have faith in you, even when my situation is unfavorable. I believe that you are good, Father. And I believe that, regardless of what I go through, your plan for me is good. Thank you for your mercy, and thank you for your grace. I love you, Father. In the name of Yeshua, the Messiah, I pray. Amen.