For I Know the Plans I Have for You

In one paragraph

Doug Walkup, who served as church moderator at First B and was being sent off to Laramie that same Sunday, brought the message. He walked through several familiar passages to ask a question many people quietly wrestle with: how do we actually know God's plan for our lives? His answer focused less on the what and the where, and more on the who. Doug opened by putting Jeremiah 29:11 back in its...

Read together

1. Matthew 22:36-39 Opening verse on the greatest commandment, love God and love neighbor
2. Jeremiah 29:11 Central text on God's plans for good and not disaster, hope and a future
3. Jeremiah 29:12-13 God's promise that those who seek Him with all their heart will find Him
4. Psalm 139:13 God knitting us together in the womb, including our personalities and gifts
5. Deuteronomy 6:5 Source of the greatest commandment, love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength
6. Micah 6:8 What the Lord requires: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God
7. Amos 3:3 How can two walk together unless they be agreed, used to illustrate walking humbly with God
8. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding, and He will direct your paths
9. Isaiah 26:3 God will keep in perfect peace all whose thoughts are fixed on Him
10. Ephesians 6:19 Prayer that whenever they open their mouth God will give them ability to speak the mystery of the gospel

Talk about it

1. Doug said that when two men in a car asked him 'Do you know Jesus?' it was exactly the right question at exactly the right time. What is the difference between knowing about God and actually knowing Him, and how did that distinction first become real for you?
2. Doug put Jeremiah 29:11 back in its original context, where God's people were hauled off to Babylon and told they would be there for seventy years. How does knowing that background change the way you hear that verse compared to how it usually appears on posters and in artwork?
3. Doug described the idea of loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and then simply doing what you want, because your wants become aligned with His. Where in your own life do you notice your wants pulling toward 'Tarshish' rather than 'Nineveh'?
4. From Micah, Doug laid out three things God requires: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. He said walking humbly means agreeing on both direction and pace. Which of those three do you find hardest to live out, and why?
5. Doug shared that being laid off after nineteen years turned out to be something God had been preparing almost two years in advance. Have you ever looked back on a painful or unwanted circumstance and seen God's longer purpose in it? What did that do to your trust in Him going forward?