Week 21: May 18-24, 2025 -Trust in God’s Plan for You

This week’s daily readings:

May 18-24, 2025

This week’s devotional:

Trust in God’s Plan for You

by Kathy Mambuca

Scripture:

“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. Then you will call on me

and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me

when you seek me with all your heart.”

— Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)

Reflection:

I never knew there were plans in place for me. I always thought that either I made my own plans (dinner and a movie on Saturday) or that life just randomly happens to you—the good and the bad—the house I was born into, the kids I grew up with, the jobs I worked, the interests I pursued, the mistakes I made, the milestones, the accomplishments, the people I loved. Someday I would come to realize that none of these things were random and instead were carefully knitted and crafted and orchestrated to create a plan for me. I never realized how close I may have come to never knowing where these plans came from and never knowing Him that made them.

But He, the Plan Maker, knew. He knew that I would come to love him with the purest of intentions, with all my heart and all my strength. He kept on working and planning, planting seeds and placing people in my path… seeds and people that drew me to seek him.

One day, into my 50s, I attended a neighborhood Bible study on a whim. I had never opened a Bible before. Something took hold of me. I did not know then about the Holy Spirit, but something made me hungry for more. After more planning, planting, knitting, and orchestrating, I finally came to the LORD. I never expected it, and I certainly never expected all the things to follow. What I did know was that I had God in my heart and loved him just to love him. I did not expect him to fix my life as there were no strings attached to loving him, yet he did transform my life, completely and unexpectedly! 

So much time, so many more plans made, and I began to grasp the teachings of the Son, lessons of the heart. I surrendered my perceived self-power to him and came to him in prayer, to be heard by him, loved by him, and hand it all to him who loves us. Yet, what was this mysterious plan he made for me?

While still an immature Christian, I came to a crossroads. I was already terribly weakened and sick, working in a most hostile environment, financially insecure despite working hard at three jobs. I was trapped and hopeless. I didn’t yet know about being able to go to God with these things or understand that he was my source of hope, so I began making my own plans for escape and bought a book of instructions on how to carry it out. But God had his plans for me. He quickly freed me from the trap, released me from the hostile workplace, gave me time for refurbishment, and even provided for me in the most surprising ways. He led me to a very humble position as a custodian at Gordon College where I discovered what God really meant for me, what he had gifted me for, and why. This most definitely did NOT come from me, but I was suddenly able to go around loving and encouraging those students. That was my real job. And I was never happier. I was following God’s plan instead of my own. He took me out of harm’s way and gave me hope and a future, just like Jeremiah said.

And I will tell you something else he did: that book of instructions disappeared from its spot in a drawer, and I never saw it again!

Prayer:

Father, Abba, thank you for meticulously planning the lives of each one of us, placing us just so, and preparing good works for us in advance. Thank you for drawing us to you, giving us salvation. Thank you for listening to our petitions and answering in your holy wisdom. Thank you for gifting each one of us in varying ways and giving us opportunities to use those gifts abundantly. Help us to trust in your plan and surrender ourselves, for you are our hope forever and ever! Amen