Submitting to God’s plan

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
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.

Many Christians get excited either when they read this verse, or when somebody quotes it to them.  And why not?  It is such a hopeful and assuring verse – imagine plans to prosper us, not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future.

The funny thing is most of us (including myself) make that mistake of thinking of our plans when we read this verse, plans that we believe will give us a future and a hope.  So we ask God to bless those plans.  But this is farthest from what the verse is saying.

“For I know the plans I HAVE FOR YOU”.  God knows His plans for us.  Yes, God has a plan for us!  Some Christians don’t realize that, and so they push their plans to God, expecting Him to fulfill them as they desire.  But it’s the other way around – it is God who has plans for us.  And it is up to us to come before Him and ask God to guide us according to His plan for us.

And when our Perfect and Loving Father makes plans for us, they are for a future and a hope, plans that will prosper us and not harm us!  That’s His promise.  So the best place we can be, the only place we should be is right smack in the middle of His plans for us!

Are we praying for God’s plans for us, or are we forcing the Lord to bless the plans that we have made for ourselves?  Are we willing to submit to the plans that the Lord has prepared for us, or will we be insisting on what we planned for ourselves?

Our God is sovereign, He does not make mistakes, and nothing happens out of His will or control.  The very place we are in right now, the very situation or circumstance, is part of the plan that God has for us – no matter how difficult, how painful, or how blessed it is!  Why?  Because God’s overall plan is to conform us to the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and He will use any and every circumstance necessary to bring out the Christ-likeness in us, and give Him the glory.

Romans 8:28-29 (NIV)
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

In all things God works for our good.  His plans are for our good, to give us a future and a hope.  Let us trust Him fully for that.  With Israel, for example – God’s plan was to bring them to exile in Babylon for seventy years!  That was not going to be pleasant.  But that was where God would bless them.  Then after seventy years He would eventually bring them back to Jerusalem.  It was all part of His plan.  All He asked was for them to obey.

Sometimes part of God’s plan for us is to be in a circumstance or situation that is not so pleasant, painful even.  But He will use that to bring out the obedience in us, and form a Christ-likeness that only that specific circumstance can bring.

So we need to trust.  Fully.  God knows the plans that He has for us.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

The Fruit of the Spirit is…Gentleness

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The fruit of the Spirit is…gentleness.  Gentle.  Men don’t like this word.  Many are afraid of it – to be gentle I mean.  Why?

The word gentleness means “meekness”, or “humility”.  Today some people are afraid to be meek or humble.  They feel it gets us nowhere.  Today you have to exert yourself, you have to forceful, express your anger, or else people will use you, misuse you and even abuse you!  So, to be gentle is not acceptable advice.

But, when the Spirit moves in your life, to change you and bring Christ-likeness, He will bring gentleness.  Why?  Because our God is gentle.  Our Lord is gentle.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Why did our Lord claim to be gentle?  The ones God is calling here in this passage are those who are weary and burdened because of sin.  When we come to Him, because He is gentle, He will not shout, curse, hit or shame us.  He will give us rest for our souls.  Imagine a just and righteous God, who has every right to be violent and harsh with us because of our sin, calling us to come to Him and find rest in Him.  That’s a gentle heart.

God wants the same gentleness in us, especially when we are in conflict, when there are differences, and when we need to express our anger.  We need to deal with each other in gentleness.  There are some who believe that the only way to deal with others who we correct, rebuke or argue with is to shout, use harsh words.

There are others who feel that they can gain the respect of others by being harsh and hard in our actions and words.  Others feel strong, in control, and so are violent and harsh in their ways.  Many men are like this – to show their authority over their wives, or their children, to be “macho” they use harsh words and even violence.

But for the Lord gentleness is His way.

Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

To be gentle does not mean to be soft or weak.  It simply means that, though we are angry or correcting someone’s mistake, we do it in a way that is encouraging, that will build up a person, and that will glorify the name of our God.

True gentleness is not just about action.  It’s about heart.  A gentle person is someone who has experienced the gentleness of his God, who was gracious and loving towards us who deserved punishment and harsh words from God.  And because our hearts have been softened by this work of grace and gentleness, we, too, deal with others with the same heart.

A heart that is gentle in its ways and words is a heart that trusts in God, knowing that it is not our harshness or violence that will move people to do something, but God.  We trust that it is God who will move in the heart of the person we are correcting or arguing with, and the One in control of the situation is not us but God.  And so we don’t do things our way, but God’s way.  And God’s way, the fruit of the Spirit, is gentleness.

Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.