Might be a hard knock life........

Good morning everyone! Well, the kids are home out of school again due to the weather or should I say possible weather! I'm thinking some cleaning is in order.... Hmmmm..... Picturing a scene from Annie! It might be a hard knock life at The Ruff house today! I want to share a little bit with ya today. Last Sunday, a sweet lady shared a little bit of her testimony with our Sunday school class. I have thought a lot about what she shared this week and this verse has kept popping up in my mind. I know it's one we have all heard a bunch but, I want us to stop and really think about it today! Let's dig into the good stuff.......
 
Bible Verse: 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."
 

Are you in the middle of a troubled time in your life? Here's the thing, you are either in one now, gonna be in one soon, or just coming out of one! That's a fact Jack! Not trying to be all doom and gloom on ya, but if you read this verse and believe it, you can handle a lot more than you think! Remember this, Jesus loves you! So much that he even knows the number of hairs on your head! Our problem is we think that God’s plan for us is always going to be a “feel good” plan with the intent to make us happy. Jeremiah’s message in these verses is actually radically different.  He’s writing to a group of people who are being held captive, and are in exile from their homeland.  He’s writing to let them know that although they’re not where they would have expected, nor where they would have asked God to place them, God has not forgotten them and He still has a plan for their lives. Even in the midst of a difficult situation, God wants them to know His plans.

In the verses just before 11 we see that a big part of God’s plan is for them to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile” (Jeremiah 29:7).  So, pretty much, God wants them to know that His plans are not just to benefit them personally. God is also telling them that He is not removing them from the situation immediately. So, button down the hatches and put their seatbelts on!  He does promise to eventually restore them, but it’s not coming quickly (70 years out when many of them will be dead).  God is letting them know they can move forward, because in the end, God’s justice will prevail and everything will even out.

I know many of you are in the midst of difficult situations, God wants us to know He has a plan.  He also wants us to know that as we submit to His plan that He desires to use us to bless the world around us, maybe just maybe, we are going through these things to be able to help someone else in the future that is struggling! Let's keep our eyes on the prize embrace the storm. I pray you have a blessed day!