A Future with Hope

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."

Jeremiah 29:11

Thoughts ~ God has amazing plans for each of us and the plans He has for me don't look like the ones He has for you. We are all created differently, so of course, it makes sense His plans will be different for us.

But the enemy of our soul will do everything he can to gang up on us with his evil army by causing us to take our eyes off the Lord. One of those ways satan likes to disrupt our lives is to bring negativity into our minds. And he sometimes uses other people to wreck some of the havoc and even our own negative thoughts. Remember this: anything that brings glory to God, is part of satans battlefield.

I’m in the process of planning a major road trip up the west coast of America where I share my Hearts Across America heart art as a tool to open conversations with strangers. This has been a long time desire of mine and it appears the Lord is giving me a green light after three years of waiting. As I plan, satan whispers so much negativity about my dream of serving the Lord that I am certain he knows there will be lives changed, including my own. And so, I pray often for the Lord to take over and guide my steps as I seek to share Jesus with the people I come in contact with. God has a plan and satan does not get to mess it up!

Action ~ When we think negatively, we are often not really leaning on the Lord and appreciating all He has done for us and will do in the future. Remember that satan tosses negative thoughts at us, not God. As Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, He has a plan for each of us and will give us a hope and a future.

Take a piece of paper and divide in in three columns vertically. (You can make a word doc in the same way but carrying your sheet around with you will help more). In column 1 the header will say "negative thoughts." In column 2 it will say "positive thoughts" and in column 3 it will say "God's thoughts."

In column one, list your negative thoughts in detail for your life. For example, some might be "I am fat" or "I am worthless" or "I can't pay my rent" or "I am afraid to live alone."

In column 2, list positive thoughts that correspond to your column 1 thoughts. For example if you wrote "I am fat" in the positive column you might write "I am working on eating healthier and getting more exercise." If you wrote "I am afraid to live alone" you would write some of the positive things about living alone will bring. Write an opposite of whatever your negative is and if you can't think of one, ask a friend who loves you to help.

In column 3, write what God says in His word. For example, where you wrote "I am unloved" God says “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). Where you wrote “I am afraid to live alone” God says: “I have not given you a spirit of fear” (II Timothy 1:7) or “I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews13:5).

This list will help you identify negative thoughts that basically can ruin our days. We can look at the positive of each situation too, but most of all, God’s thoughts will bring comfort, encouragement and hope to your heart.

If you are new to using your Bible or want to make finding the verses a little faster, go to http://www.biblegateway.com/  where you can enter particular words in the keyword search box.

Prayer ~ Lord I ask that you show each person how valuable they are to you and that You have a special plan for their lives.

Trusting in the Lord for my walk with Him,

Becky