Finding Peace When We Don't Understand

           There have been many moments in my life where pain and confusion have overwhelmed me.  Where I look up to heaven and shake my head and wonder “Why?”  In these moments when the earthly pain is more than I can bare, the words of Jeremiah 29:11 sing clearly to my soul; “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” This verse has become my comfort in times of trouble, in times that I cannot understand why God is allowing me to struggle and hurt, and in times of great loss.

            Even as I sit here today and my heart hurts, I am able to look back over the events of my life and I can see where God has fulfilled his promise over and over.  “I know the plans I have for you” I couldn’t see the plans that God had for me when I was in the middle of the mess, but now as I reflect, it is so clear that God was growing me through the pain.  God has plans for our lives that we have no idea were even possible, and even though we shake our heads and wonder or even blame God for our circumstances, He never stops developing His plans for our lives.

            The one thing about this verse that always sticks out to me is that God never said that our lives would be painless.  But He does say that He wants to prosper us, give us hope and a future.  I look back on when my Husband and I first started out in a tiny 1 bedroom 400 sf apartment to where we are today.  Every step, every milestone, every struggle, pain and hurt were all part of God’s plan to lead me to where I am today.  Furthermore, where I am today is part of God’s plan for tomorrow, next year and for years to come.

            So in times when the pain seems like it is more then we can bare, or we don’t understand why we are going through a storm that seems to have no end; we can find peace in knowing that God is growing us.  He has plans for our lives, plans not to harm us but to give us hope and a future.