You may not feel like you have what it takes, but let me assure you, you have WHO it takes. You may not be great at finding your way, but you have the way maker going before you. How exactly you make it through this may still be a mystery to you, but our God is the master over the unknown. If it is a mystery it’s because he has chosen not to reveal what is already known to him.

Let me make this real clear … God is not trying to work all this out. He’s ALREADY worked it out. He’s not rushing around angels with an alternate plan to override your stupidity. Girl, he knew you would be stupid about this before he brought you here. But he still chose you. He still said you’re the one he wants here. You’re the one he can use. In advance he knew you would wander off a bit and he built that into his master plan.

Hey, did you know even with all your screw ups and failures, even with all your delays and detours, even with all your humanness really jacking some things up, you’re still working with the master plan? You haven’t had to default to some “lesser-than” alternate plan for your life. God hasn’t moved to plan F because you messed up and missed out on plans A through E. This is still the master plan because it’s still the Master’s Plan!

God, in all his wisdom and knowledge, foresight and holy ability to be here, there and everywhere at the same time, knew where you would be at this very moment in your life. Oh, you didn’t know … but God did. He always has. This is all accounted for in the master plan and he STILL SAYS IT’S GOOD.

You know 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.” Yeah … you’re still in line for those plans. You haven’t missed it so stop dismissing yourself.

God’s good plans for you are not contingent upon your perfect attendance in church. They’re not dependent upon your super success, your picture perfect relationships, your willpower over your bad habits, or your unwavering heart that only wants his way over your way. Nope … none of that is tied to God’s good plans for you.

Girl, he knew you when he imagined good things for you. You don’t even know you like God knows you. He knows your messed up motives covered by good deeds. He knows your twisted thoughts you would never admit to. He knows your deepest fears and biggest insecurities you wrestle with in those dark corners where no one else is invited in. He knows your hangups and your screwups. He knows your low-down and down-low. And he STILL SAYS I HAVE GOOD THINGS PLANNED FOR HER.

That’s the master plan for your life. The master says there are plans to give you hope and a future. Plans to prosper you. And you don’t have to settle for anything less than that just because you’ve been spending your days living below that level. You can level up today. You can take your current circumstances and live a different life. You can change your attitude and your perspective and see God at work in the same exact reality you were missing him in yesterday. You can find awe and wonder where before you only found despair and darkness. The master’s plan has always been there, it’s a matter of opening your eyes to it and seeing circumstances beyond the surface level, at the master level.

Jeremiah 29:11 has become a life verse for me and many others. It’s a verse we cling to when our plans fall apart and seemingly less favorable alternate plans are at play … GOD HAS A PLAN FOR ME. It’s a good plan. I can trust it. Today’s unfoldings do not discount God’s plan.

But have we taken this scripture out of context? When, where and why was this written? Honestly, this verse has been such hope for me, I was afraid to dig deeper. But when I dug deeper, I found this scripture is even that much more applicable and powerful!

Jeremiah spoke these words to Jews who had been living under the domination of Egypt. Life had been hard for these people. It had been unfair. They had gotten their hopes built up by a false prophet named Hananiah who told the people they would be free and return to their homes in 2 years.

Maybe you’ve gotten your hopes built up by someone who meant well, but they spoke out of turn. They declared things they didn’t have the power to declare. Now, you sit in unchanged circumstances disappointed by a reality that didn’t measure up to what you had hoped. Jeremiah comes in with the truth … the truth that their circumstances would not change for at least 70 years. The truth that saving up their living for when things would be easier would be wasting the precious days of their short lives. So they should live NOW. They should find joy and happiness right where they were because this is where they would be for longer than they had hoped.

Although an immediate rescue would not come, Jeremiah reminded them God’s plans for them were still good. God intended for them to still have hope and a future. His plan was still to prosper them. However it wouldn’t come in an immediate rescue and change of circumstances.

God isn’t promising to swoop in and rescue you from this. He isn’t promising to change your circumstances. He is promising regardless of those circumstances HE CAN STILL PROSPER YOU, and HE INTENDS TO. Regardless of bad things around you, God is promising to use them for good. He is not limited by what is around you and he’s calling you to lift your head and increase your resolve to no longer be limited by these things either.

My attitude will not be infected by today’s circumstances. My effort will not be limited by today’s struggles. My faith will not be lessened by today’s unfolding. My hope in tomorrow will not be limited by today’s realities.

Not a single thing has to change for me to get in agreement with the master plan for my life and agree it will be a story of prospering. It will be a story of hope and a good future. That’s the Master’s plans and I agree with them!

So we may not feel like we have what it takes, and that’s okay. We have WHO it takes. We have the Almighty living and dwelling within us. I’ll take the Holy Spirit guiding me over perfect circumstances any day!

We may not be great at finding our own way, but we never had to any way. God is the way maker. He makes a way where there was no way. He’s already gone before us today and aligned the impossible to be made possible on our behalf. Why would we ever hesitate to take the next step? Don’t you want to see the unfolding of impossible things happening for you? Get you some of that girl! Jump on in!

This may all be a great mystery to us, but God knows every detail of our lives and has seen every day since the beginning. If he says he has hope for our future, then I say ‘okay, let’s move forward towards it!’

Welcome to the master plan … you were never out of it because there’s always been grace over you to return every single time.