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 hope and a future."
What does this verse mean to us as believers? “He knows the plans He has for us”… That is an obvious statement if you believe like me that God knit you together in your mothers womb… that He is the alpha and omega… the beginning and the end… he knows our future because he has already experienced it… nothing happens in our lives that is a surprise to God. It is a comforting fact to me that the Almighty Savior of the Universe has my life charted out in his hands… because that is exactly where I want to be.But what about the 2nd part of the verse that people love to cling to? The part where prospering is talked about… what does it truly mean to prosper?
pros·per : to succeed in an enterprise or activity; especially :
"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 hope and a future."
What does this verse mean to us as believers? “He knows the plans He has for us”… That is an obvious statement if you believe like me that God knit you together in your mothers womb… that He is the alpha and omega… the beginning and the end… he knows our future because he has already experienced it… nothing happens in our lives that is a surprise to God. It is a comforting fact to me that the Almighty Savior of the Universe has my life charted out in his hands… because that is exactly where I want to be.But what about the 2nd part of the verse that people love to cling to? The part where prospering is talked about… what does it truly mean to prosper?
pros·per : to succeed in an enterprise or activity; especially :
to achieve economic success
2: to become strong and flourishing; to cause to succeed or thrive.
Do we really think God is talking about achieving economic success in our lives… I am going to go out on a limb and say He isn’t. So what does this verse mean by prosper…. I like to translate prosper to thrive… I think God wants us to thrive in everything we do in our lives. He wants our households to be thriving, he wants us to be thriving in our ministries at church… he wants us to be a thriving person… always growing and grasping for more…(not more money and success) but more of a life worth living for Christ. There are so many pastors today who take this verse and say “Love God and he will prosper you!” Everyone who hears this allows there eyes to glaze over with the view of the corner office with the beautiful view of downtown and as they turn to there gold laden desk they open a drawer and money starts pouring out all over the floor. This is not what this verse is saying. As Christians we should honestly rather thrive as who we are in Christ then have any amount of earthly money. This remind me of the verse,
2: to become strong and flourishing; to cause to succeed or thrive.
Do we really think God is talking about achieving economic success in our lives… I am going to go out on a limb and say He isn’t. So what does this verse mean by prosper…. I like to translate prosper to thrive… I think God wants us to thrive in everything we do in our lives. He wants our households to be thriving, he wants us to be thriving in our ministries at church… he wants us to be a thriving person… always growing and grasping for more…(not more money and success) but more of a life worth living for Christ. There are so many pastors today who take this verse and say “Love God and he will prosper you!” Everyone who hears this allows there eyes to glaze over with the view of the corner office with the beautiful view of downtown and as they turn to there gold laden desk they open a drawer and money starts pouring out all over the floor. This is not what this verse is saying. As Christians we should honestly rather thrive as who we are in Christ then have any amount of earthly money. This remind me of the verse,
Matthew 6:20 “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”
This is the kind of treasure I want! “Plans to give you a hope and a future” I am going to step out on another limb and say the future being talked about is not when we are 50… or 70… or even 90. Let’s dare ourselves to look outside the realm of this earthly body. Christ came to this earth to die on a cross to save us from ALL of our sins so that one day, we who accept the gift can live eternally with Him. Christ came to be our hope and our future. Our time here on this earth is meant to be spent learning how to give love away just as Christ did, so that maybe just maybe we can begin to understand the depths of Christ love for us.
Thrive in everything you do, and if you have received Christ love… start giving it away, so that others might also have a hope for there future.
Xoxo-Candace
1 comment:
preach it sista!
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