A Praying Mother

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.  "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Greetings,

The verse above is one of my all-time favorites because part of God's good and hope-filled plan for my life was to give me a praying mother.

I think of her often  -  especially around this time of the year  -  and of all the things she could have left me when she went home to heaven, nothing is more precious or more valuable to me than knowing she prayed for me every single day.  

She asked the Lord daily for His blessings, guidance, healing, protection, forgiveness, wisdom, and moral clarity to infuse every part of my being. 

If you had or have a praying mother, praise the Lord for that incomparable gift.  If you didn't or don't, then pick up the mantle, if you haven't already, and be part of that good plan God has for you and your family.  There is nothing you could do that is more beneficial or powerful and no greater legacy you could leave behind.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for moms. We also thank You for opening our eyes to the importance of prayer.  We want to be part of Your good plans, so we lift up our children before Your throne and pray down a blessing right now.  Meet us and our families at the point of our need.  You have every single thing that is necessary to get our lives moving and staying in the right direction.  In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Hard at Work

Dear DEVO Readers:

I pray you will read the verses below and find your soul uplifted.  Remember, you can put anyone's name in the place of your own and find comfort in knowing that God is also hard at work in that precious life!

(Your name here), "you are blessed because you believe the Lord will do what He says" (Luke 1:45).

And He says in scripture (Psalm 138:8 & Jeremiah 29;11) that "He will work out His plans for your life  -   plans that are good; plans that will give you a future filled with hope  -  for His faithful love endures forever.  He will not abandon you for He made you."

Thank You, Lord, that I am blessed and that You are constantly at work in my life and in the lives of those I love. You are doing good things today, and I receive them. You are always by my side. Amen!

His Plan is Best~

Greetings~

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible: Jeremiah 29:11 "'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 hope and a future.'"

This verse is such a comforting and beautiful promise for all God's children.  No matter what is going on in your life right now, you can boldly say that God is on your side.  He is all about setting you up to bless you, not harm you.  To give you hope, not despair. To give you something to look forward to, not leave you perpetually crashing into one dead end after another.

Ooohhh--I can hear some of you lamenting, "God's plan is not happening for me.  I am not prospering.  I am under a lot of stress. I am hopeless..." 

Hit the brakes, people!  Let's break it down, okay? 

The very first thing we learn from this verse is that the plans belong to God.  

It doesn't say, "I know the plans I have for myself," declares Yenise, "plans to prosper myself..."

This does not mean I don't have plans.  I do – lots of them.  But right now I am quaking in my ankle socks just thinking about what would have happened if I could have somehow exerted control over Rayray's life and sent her to school in 2012.  She had graduated with her bachelor's in April and was ready to start grad school right away.  She did not want any time off, and was looking forward to starting her master's program. However, a clerical error was to blame for her having to defer enrollment for one extra year, which was not part of my plan nor hers either. And at the time, I called, cajoled, and cried to the admissions committee, even had a minor temper tantrum, but they would not budge.

The worse part was that I remember hanging up the phone feeling so smug – thinking to myself, "You won't budge?  Fine.  But you'll see; I know Someone Who will make you."

I turned to God and pleaded with Him to move the red-tape mountain.  I asked Him to unholster His heavenly guns and cause a ruckus.  I begged Him move the hearts of the inept ding dongs who messed up.  

Crikey! NOTHING HAPPENED.  

Except that all along God was busy behind the scenes setting us up to bless us. When we couldn't see how it would work out, He could.  When neither Rayray nor I could think of one good reason for this inopportune delay, He could. Rayray wound up working as a high school volleyball coach when she didn’t get into grad school.  That’s how she met her future husband. God always knew His plan was best.   And He also knew that we would eventually come to our senses and thank Him for being in control.  (The older and wiser we get, the more quickly this happens).  He knew that we would re-embrace this life of faith and accept that our way of thinking must take a bow to His will for our life.  

Sometimes that can be difficult because we are just so sure that everything would be better if ________ (fill in the blank).

What did you fill in the blank with?  I am not saying to let it go completely. After all, Rayray did eventually start grad school.  In fact, she is graduating in a few months. What I am saying, however, is that God knows best, including the timing of things.  If you're still waiting for something or someone, or if your dreams are on hold or even non-existent, let's take a step of faith together and embrace God's plans.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 "It is beautiful how God has done everything at the right time."     

PRAYER: Dear Lord, If we're being honest, sometimes it's hard to believe that Your plans are best.  There are things You have allowed that we would not have chosen for ourselves. But today, as one big DEVO family, we take a step of faith straight toward You and thank You that You are in control.  Nothing and no one else has a say in our lives.  We open our arms wide to receive all the good You desire to do in us and in those we love, and we find comfort in knowing You have perfect timing.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~     

Then you will call...

Jeremiah 29:11 ““I know the plans that I have for you.  They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.”

What should be our reaction to knowing that God’s plan for our life is good?  I think it’s fine to jump for joy and share this news with others, but our immediate reaction should be what follows in verse 12: “Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”

When we come to the realization that everything He says is true, we will turn to Him in prayer because He listens.  We will call on Him because He answers.  We will go to Him because He and only He – not our car, or a statue, or a rock star – fulfills His plans for us. 

When we pray we are letting God know that we believe in Him, we believe He is the only One Who has the power to help – the only One Who has power period – we believe He has our best interests at heart, and that He’s the only One Who knows how to make everything work out for our good.

We pray so that God can share with us what He already knows: There is nothing He can’t do, and He wants to bless us and help us each and every day.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for having plans for us that are meant to encourage us to pray.  Some days we don’t feel hopeful or at peace, and it is at these moments that we need to redirect our focus on You.  We ask You to fulfill Your goodness in our lives.  We thank You for listening to us.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~  

Open Our Eyes~

Tuesday greetings~

I love taking road trips.  Jorge is a pleasant companion, the scenery is pretty, and when I sing-a-long to the radio, I sound fabulous.  My favorite place is anywhere where the leaves have turned colors in all their fall glory.  There is one stretch of highway between Tennessee and Georgia, however, that is so perilous I always close my eyes and move toward the center of the car.  I realize my body is fully protected inside the car, but that two-way road is so narrow that I feel as though we are going to hit either the oncoming traffic or the railing on the other side.  One part of this road goes through a winding tunnel, and there is no way to see what’s around the corner.  The first time we went through it, I pretty much screamed the entire way.  The next time and since then, Jorge always reminds me to close my eyes. 

I don’t like it when I can’t see what’s up ahead; it’s a scary feeling.  Life is kind of like that too.  None of us really knows what’s next, and sometimes that can leave us feeling anxious.

Even though we don’t know what’s next, we know Someone Who does.  And He says, “I know the plans that I have for you.  They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

God’s plan is to give us peace and hope.  No need to close our eyes!  We can’t see everything that’s coming, but He can, and He desires to bless us with peace and hope.  To receive His plan we have to receive Him.  We get on board by letting Him know every day that we want His guidance, His protection, and His provision in our lives.  And even when everything in our life seems to be anything but peaceful or hopeful, we stretch our faith muscles and tell Him that His way is best because ultimately everything we have ever hoped for will come true.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We love Your plans for our life!  We want peace, we need hope, and none of us ever wants disaster.  Help us to trust You – especially when we go through hard times.  Rather than going through life with our eyes closed, open our eyes to see Your power and goodness all around us. Thank You for always having good things in store for us.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~    

The Lord's Purpose Prevails~

Thursday Greetings~

Jeremiah 29:11 "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 hope and a future."

God knows the plans He has for us, and He is also aware of the plans we have for ourselves.

Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."

He knows what we want, why we want it, when we want it, and where we want to be when we get it. But when we seek Him and pray for guidance, this means that sometimes we will not get our way. Thank God!

I can think of a few things that if I would have had my way, my life would be considerably less enjoyable then it is right now. Maybe doing things his way worked for Sinatra, but it hasn't worked for me.

Nevertheless, His purpose for His children prevail. And what is His purpose? To prosper us in mind, body, and soul. To never harm us. To give us hope and a bright future.

We need to accept the above-statement as fact if we want to be content. We also need re-evaluate the definition of prosperity and what it means to have a bright furture because like I said yesterday, not all of us are in a great place right now. Many of us are questioning not only God's plans, but maybe even His love for us.

"If God loves me so much, why did He allow ____________?"

Yesterday we learned that the plans belong to God. Today we must nourish our faith and tell God that we trust Him. That He is trustworthy. That we want our plans to align with His. That He knows best. That He and He alone has the ability and the desire to bless us beyond belief and to overwhelm us with peace.

Once upon a time I did fill in the blank above and questioned why a loving God would allow my mom to die of cancer at 47.

Want to know what He said?

Tomorrow. Hahaha~

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Your Way is better than ours. We do trust You. We want Your best for us and our families, and if this means not getting our way, then as scary as it is to give up control, we do it. Oh wait, we have no control! Prosper us now in every area of our lives. Pour out Your peace on us that we may be content. In Jesus' name, AMEN~