God's Welfare Plan

In these turbulent times, what we all need more than anything else, is the reminder that God has a plan for us. Better yet, God has a plan that is specific!

I love the verse from 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." Interestingly, the word "welfare" in Hebrew is the word "Shalom" meaning peace! God has specific plans alright, and what they are is to give us a future of peace.

There have been many times in my life when what I needed was peace . . . but what I had was calamity! The word calamity means "grevious affliction; great misfortune; disaster and adversity."

Calamity is not from God . . . Shalom is from God! And, God desires that we have Shalom in the midst of calamity. So, why did I experience so much calamity without Shalom in my life? Hands down, the answer lies in Jeremiah 29:12-14a "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with your whole heart, and I will be found by you, declares the Lord!"

Most of the time I prayed, and when I prayed I usually expected God to answer my prayers . . . but seldom did I seek God with my whole heart. Whole hearted seeking, is the kind that requires diligence. You know, it's the "knock and keep on knocking; seek and keep on seeking" kind of diligence. And I dare say that I have been, more often than not, pretty lazy in my whole heartedness toward God. What do I mean by that? Well, let me explain. I have not searched for an answer from God as though I were searching for a lost diamond . . . and believe me, when I lost a diamond, I turned over heaven and earth to find it, and find it I did! But, it's not been with that same diligence, the same steadfastness or the same determination that I've sought God, when I was in the midst of calamity, so of course calamity had its reign.

So, I realize that calamity doesn't have to reign in my life, it's certainly not what God wants for me. No! God desires that I have peace . . . shalom. May I always remember that when those calamities come . . . Shalom will reign when I seek God with my whole heart!