For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. 12 Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you. 13 Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  Jeremiah 29:11-13 AMP

 

Verse 11 in the KJV says, “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.”  Father God has thoughts and plans for us for peace. This word translated “peace” means: peace, welfare, well-being, happiness, favor, rest, safety, health, and prosperity.

 

God has NO plans for evil. It is the devil who plans evil against mankind. The commitment that God expects from us is that we come to seek Him with ALL our heart, to pray to Him, and to call upon Him. Then He promises that He will hear us and answer us. We are the ones who can settle for the devil’s plan for us, or we can choose God’s plan. God’s plan entails welfare and peace and hope and fulfillment of promises. No matter what we go through, we know that God will have the final say and His good plans for us WILL succeed!

 

Blessed (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.  Psalms 1:1 AMP

 

You can follow God’s plan for your life, or you can listen to ungodly people’s advice and ideas. God’s plan is for a hopeful future, but man’s plans will lead you down the road to nowhere. The decisions we make for our lives are not merely earthly decisions, but decisions whose impact is felt into eternity. God already has a path and plan laid out for you that will take you into life and blessing, if you will choose it.

 

Let all those that seek and require You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified! 17 [As for me] I am poor and needy, yet the Lord takes thought and plans for me. You are my Help and my Deliverer. O my God, do not tarry!  Psalms 41:16-17 AMP

 

It doesn’t matter what your circumstances are right now, the Lord is thinking about you and planning good plans for you.

 

Then [Israel] believed His words [trusting in, relying on them]; they sang His praise. 13 But they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] regarding them.  Psalms 106:12-13 AMP

 

We must give God’s plans for us time to develop. Some people praise God one minute, and then the next, they forget what He has promised and they are off doing their own thing. We must believe God’s promises concerning us and not give up or get distracted. It is those who exercise faith and patience, who inherit the promises.

 

Many plans are in a man’s mind, but it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand.  Proverbs 19:21 AMP

 

You can make all the plans in the world, but there is no guarantee they will come to pass. If you follow God’s plans, He will make sure that they come to pass, no matter what.

 

The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought and planned, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.  Isaiah 14:24 AMP

 

God’s plans WILL come to pass. You can accept His plans for your life, and succeed; or you can go your own way and fail.

 

And the spirit of the Egyptians within them will become exhausted and emptied out and will fail, and I will destroy their counsel and confound their plans; and they will seek counsel from the idols and the sorcerers, and from those having familiar spirits (the mediums) and the wizards.  Isaiah 19:13 AMP

 

Anyone who fights against God, and tries to find direction instead from the devil, and his agents, will utterly fail. God will confound the plans of your enemy.

 

But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither do they understand His plan, for He shall gather them as the sheaves to the threshing floor.  Micah 4:12 AMP

 

Everyone will stand before God and will be at His mercy. He sent Jesus to take the entire wrath of God that sinners deserve, upon Himself; so that we could be shown mercy. Just as the sheaves were sorted after harvest, to keep the wheat and burn the tares, so all of mankind will stand before God and either be received into His Kingdom or be rejected and cast into hell, into the flame that never dies.

 

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.  Romans 8:28 AMP

 

When we, who are called according to His design and purpose, work obediently with God to fulfill that purpose, then He works with us and makes our plans good and our path straight. Even though the devil might try to attack and harass, he cannot stop you, or the plan of God, as you faithfully follow that plan. God’s purposes for you will come to pass. He will cause every circumstance to turn and line up with His plans for you. Find out what His plan is for you. Trust Him and follow Him and you will succeed.