Tag: Jeremiah 29:11

Anyone over the age of about thirteen can look back on this year and say, “Wow!”

It didn’t really matter if you were Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, owned a home or rented, had children or not, etc. I think we can all agree that it was a rough ride in many ways.

Every year I see something in the news about the people we lost over the past year. This year has been especially shocking to me. I don’t know if I’m just getting older, so I’m aware of more people, and have followed them over their careers. Maybe it’s more of a surprise because so many have been young…around my age. And yes, that’s young to me. To only reach your fifties or not even…half your life in the way I look at it.

And of course I always wonder what their belief system was. For me, to think that a person did not know Christ as their Savior before their death is scary and sad.

So many celebrities had it all while they lived their lives on this earth. So very many had tumultuous lives. It seems to me that they were searching for that perfect combination, that balm to the soul and all the money and fans could not appease that hunger.

That is not to say that if you accept Christ as your Savior your life is monetarily successful. That you have all that this world deems important and affluent. And I have had people say, “Then why bother? I’m fine on my own.”

But are we?

I like to have a plan, a goal, and know what’s ahead to some extent. No, you can’t know everything and life is full of surprises. Some wonderful and rocking our world, others not so much. At times those unexpected little things are just down right depressing and pretty formidable. But for me, wondering about where I would go after I’m no longer here on this earth would be unacceptable. I want to know and be sure. And I think most people do.

Because God created us that way. He created us to need other people for encouragement, support, accountability and love. He gave us a desire to have others in our lives. He designed us with emotions, feelings, taste and a decision-making process…for a reason. It was planned.

And for me, a plan is pretty fantastic. I want to know what’s ahead, and what I’m expected to do. And you can.

I look back on 2016 and think, “Wow!” But I look back on my entire last 52 years on this earth and can say the same. It’s been a pretty exciting ride, most of the time. Looking to the future of 2017 is a bit scary. There are many unanswered questions. And I don’t like that. But faith is where it’s at. I know God has a plan, and I’m part of that plan, and He’s the ultimate planner.

Jeremiah 29:11 King James Version (KJV)

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29:11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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.

Tomorrow is the last day of the year 2016. The year has flown by, many changes have occurred over the past twelve months. We know, take by faith, that the sun will set tonight and rise again in the morning. Time is short, for all of us. None of us know how long we will be here. Make the most of the time you have, make the best decision of your life. Accepting Christ as your Savior, is a plan you can be sure of. And it sure beats having no clue! 

Start the New Year with a clean slate. Decide to live your life differently. Each day we are given affords that opportunity. If you are saved, make 2017 the year you put your Christian walk first in your life. That will be my goal.

John 3:16 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.