This is a short thought.
If you are feeling hopeless right now, this is for you.
God has a plan for you. He has answers to all your questions. You can have peace. I don’t mean when you are dead – I mean now and every day from here on in (I’m not beating about the bush because I’ve got to go and buy food to make tea for the family and it’s already 4.30). I know what it’s like to be tormented and feel like nothing you do is good enough. I know what it feels like to be in a terrible mess and have no idea how to begin to get out of it. I felt God nudge me to post this as He has heard your anguish and you need to read this right now.
Today, I realised that when I get tangled up in the misery of my mistakes, I actually believe they will derail God’s plans. Sometimes, I start to believe it is all hopeless and I will never get anything right. Seeing it written in a compact way like this, I can see how ridiculous and egotistical that is. But it’s so easy to become disheartened when things go wrong (especially if it is our own fault). We end up going round and round in a cycle of negative thinking that drags us lower. Nevertheless, here is a comforting nugget of truth – this is from Job, a guy from the Bible who endured a season of truly dreadful suffering. This is what He says to God at the end of it all:
“I know that you can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted.”
The truth is, no plan of God can be derailed, no matter how flaky we are – He is God after all. And again in Proverbs 21:30
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”
No ‘superior’ thinking or arrogant idea will work long term – whether it’s you or someone else. God’s got this. No bullying tactics, harsh words, threatening or underhand behaviour and no amount of boasting will upset God’s plans. If you are desperate for a ray of hope in a dark, dark season of your life, call out to God. He will answer you. Jesus Christ is literally stood with Him praying for You. Tell Him everything and then let go of it to Him. I like to imagine putting it all in a swag bag and handing it to Him. Then to imagine what He does with it. You may need to ask His forgiveness as He highlights areas that have gone awry. And you may need to forgive others as He prompts you. Afterwards to wait and receive His forgiveness, peace, healing and reassurance. It’s good to do this every time those feelings of hopelessness resurface.
Father God, I pray that you will bless all those who need it right now with Your peace. Let it flow down over them like a waterfall of comfort and refreshing. Give them the ability to see that You have got it all in hand. Help them to see things the way that You see things. That You have a plan for them that cannot be thwarted (Psalm 139:16). In Jesus name I ask.