“For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

One of my favorite verses since I was a child.  I claimed it many times as my head said, ‘yes God has a plan for me’.    Yet it wasn’t until I was an adult that I embraced the verses that followed.  The verses that made me realize I have a part to play in God’s plan developing in my life.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me WITH ALL YOUR HEART.”

The year my world fell apart and it seemed all ‘my plans’ for my life had been destroyed, these verses came alive in a very real and perfect way.   I was down on my knees in the middle of the woods literally crying out to God “what now?”   “What is your plan for me now Lord?”  It was amid that seeking with all my heart that He revealed to me that HIS plan was still the same.  HE was still the same.   I was the one who had drifted so far away focusing on my plans in this world, that I failed to seek Him with all my heart along the way.  Then I pondered, would it have changed the outcome of the events that had left me broken?   Maybe…maybe not.  One thing that was clear was that even if the circumstances hadn’t changed, my perspective most certainly would have… if I had only been living out the 2 verses that followed one of my favorite verses.

God has a plan for the world and most certainly invites us to be a part of that plan.  His redemption plan is perfect and full of blessings for those who choose to align with His will and seek Him with all their heart.  I am thankful that it is never too late to seek Him with all our heart and realign our lives with His plan.

Reflecting on my personal experience I can now see how God was working in several different people and groups and even another country during the time I was off course to complete His plan.  Then when I chose to seek Him with all my heart and start asking Him to include me in those plans, He aligned everything in His timing to bring me to a place where I could be a part of that plan.  Did He need me?… most certainly not.  He saw my heart and heard my prayers and chose me to fill a small part in His greater plan.  I am forever grateful and blessed because of that.

I am grateful for broken dreams and disappointments that led me to where and who I am now in Christ.  Not perfect, but a work in progress who has learned to seek God with all my heart and know that apart from Him I can do nothing.  

Now I read Jeremiah 29 out of order because for me it makes more sense that way:

v 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

v 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

v 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 a hope and a future.

If you are at a crossroad in your life and trying to make a big decision about your future, I encourage you to pray over and live out these verses for your direction.

If you have lost your way and desire for God to use you in His plans, I encourage you to cry out to the Lord and pray over these verses and watch and see how God brings you back into His plan.

Either way, commit these verses to heart and watch and see how God uses you to His glory in His plans.  The blessings are infinite, and the joy is priceless!

About the Author: Christina Massey has been serving as a missionary in Honduras since 2011. She is currently the administrator of Faith Home, a ministry that provides a safe and healthy place to love and raise children who were neglected, abandoned, and abused. She also loves being a mom to her seven year old son Joshua Isaias.