Control Freak

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. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

This is a really popular passage – particularly verse 11. We use it to give us encouragement that God is on our side. Rightfully so, we are fortunate to have a God that truly loves us. The problem I see is that we're getting off the train too soon.

We tend to stick with verse 11 – “good plans”. We love good plans, don’t we? I love a good plan. I’m a planner and I really want to know the plan. Actually, it’s not enough to know that the plans are good. I want to know what the plan IS. What is the plan God? Is Chris’ job going to hold out? Will we be able to pay for college? Will my marriage make it? Will my kids turn out all right? Will my dreams come true? What is the plan?

Often times I behave like I love the plan more than I love God. I want to know the plan more than I want to know God – the author of the plan. Notice God doesn’t say, “Here’s the good plan” and follows that up with a detailed outline of what he’s going to do or what is going to happen to us. He just says, “I know the plans”. He doesn’t promise to reveal the plans to us at a certain time. He doesn’t say he’ll run the plans past us to see if we approve. He simply says, “I know the plans and they’re good”.

Why does he insist on making me crazy like this?! Why doesn’t he just tell me the plan? He doesn’t tell me the plan because He's so smart. We weren’t made for plans. We were made for relationship with God.

He doesn’t tell us the plan because of verses 12 and 13, “Then you’ll come to me and pray to me. You’ll talk and I’ll listen. You’ll seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Our problem is sometimes we want to know the plan so badly that we seek the plan with all our heart instead of God. This puts us on that terrible hamster wheel where we’re chasing a plan and getting nowhere. It’s only when we chase God that we live life the way it was meant to be lived. Life was not meant to be lived in pursuit of a plan but in pursuit of God.

Notice He says, "me" five times in verses 12 and 13. He's saying, "Hey, it's ME you need to know." He never says he'll reveal the plan to us when we seek him with all of our heart. He says he'll reveal Himself. His beautiful, awesome, amazing self! That's what we really need! I'm such a control freak but this verse brings things back into focus. I can put down my blackberry, my day planner, my five year forcast and simply come. He's the holder of the plan but more than that, He's the holder of my heart.