Stories that Shape Us
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a future with hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
In my office there once hung a picture with these words written in beautiful calligraphy, “I know the plans I have for you.” It was given to me years ago by a friend who sensed my frustration of not knowing where I was going in life with ministry or family. I am a planner. I think five years in advance and this was a time in my life when I didn’t know what the plan was! Yet these words comforted me with the wisdom that I may not know the plan, but God does, and this was a time to be still and trust God. And when I felt anxious, I use to say these words like a mantra, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, I know the plan.”
This Sunday our scripture is Jeremiah 31: 31-34. It is a time of transition for a nation. In the mist of doom and gloom to a people living in exile, Jeremiah offers a word of hope. God is doing a new thing based not on judgment, but on mercy, accomplished not through our own efforts, but through his love. And in the midst of a transition in the life of this church, as we select a Pastor Nominating Committee, God is doing a new thing. The Lord has a plan for us, to give us a future with hope.
Rev. Terry Hanna