For I know the plans that I have for you…
Jeremiah 29:11
My husband and I are now retired, our two children are married adults and have children of their own. In this season of life, I have a lot more time than when I was raising children and working, and many choices exist for ways to spend time throughout the day – time with my husband, church ministries, family and friends who need help and encouragement – the list goes on.
How do we choose what to do with our time? I have learned the most important thing is to spend time alone with the Lord early each morning before anything else happens. I start by asking Him to quiet my mind and delete all the distractions so I can focus on Him. I ask for eyes to see Him, ears to hear His voice, and a heart to respond to how He leads. This verse in Jeremiah greatly encourages me: I know the plans I have for you (Jeremiah 29:11). The Lord knows the plans He has for me! And I know He waits for me to ask Him. I can rest and enjoy peace as I trust Him to lead me through the day, watching for what He has planned! I am learning to depend on Him completely, and I delight to see how He leads!
I made a list of Scriptures that encourage me as I am waiting for God’s direction for life and ministry opportunities. I keep it on my desk so that I can refer to it often. These scriptures and the quotes I included from another source help me, and I pray they will encourage you too.
Ephesians 2:10 We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, so that we should walk in them.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
John 10:4 When He puts forth all His own, He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me.
Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth…I will even make a roadway in the wilderness.
Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God…
Psalm 37:7 Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him…
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
II Chronicles 16:9 The eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His (NASB)… whose hearts are fully committed to Him (NIV)
I didn’t get permission from the author to use the quotes I would like to include, but if you have the Jesus Calling devotional by Sarah Young, I recommend reading her messages for January 25th and October 27th.
PERSONAL REFLECTION
Are there changes that need to be made in your priorities, your attitudes, your choices that will make a positive impact on the way you spend your time?
What is a specific step you can take to begin?
Thank you, dear Sherrilyn. I copied those verses and pasted them in a file on my desktop so I also could return to them again and again. What a strength we find in God’s living and powerful Word! How thankful I am for His Holy Spirit who drives those truths into our hearts to transform us into the image of Jesus–slowly but surely. May God continue to bless us through your faithfulness to Him.
Very good counsel Sherrilyn, my thanks again for this and for your faithfulness and kindness.
Somewhere I read a quote from a missionary and I can’t remember his name but the quote has stuck with me through the years and I try to follow this advice every day: “No Bible, no breakfast!”
So good and challenging!
Thank you once again for the good word. Very encouraging. Jeremiah 1:12 Says he watches over his word to perform it.