Jeremiah 37-39

Hebrews 3

“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.’”   —Jeremiah 29:11

When we submit ourselves as a slave to Jesus Christ for life, there are three things that He does for us. The first thing is that He plans the program of the slave. The second thing is that He provides the resources for it. And finally, He protects the purpose. What this means is that He may have one slave over here doing this and another slave over there doing that. These two slaves do not know how their tasks interact with each other to accomplish a big picture, but the Master knows.

Something we must realize is that we will not understand everything that happens in this world. The reality is that there is an antagonistic force at work, as John tells us, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). However, in the same letter, John says, “…the Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14). In other words, we can overcome the evil one through the Word of God in us, leading us to the truth of God.

Yet, in this evil and broken environment, we know that God works out a purpose that is good. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Some of us may know the King James Version of this verse: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” The problem with this translation is that “things” is not active. God is the subject of that sentence and He works all things for good. Even when things seem to go wrong, He knows what He is doing. There are things that stay broken but we can trust in God, who works them for a good end. He is constantly adjusting the things in our lives, although we may not know what it is in this life.

If we are in union with Jesus Christ, abiding in Him, intentionally placing our dependence on Him, acknowledging Him in all our ways, delighting ourselves in the Lord, we will discover that He will direct our paths, giving us the desires of our heart, planning the program, providing the resources and perfecting the purpose. We can trust Him because being a real Christian—a slave of Jesus Christ—means to live in the riches of His presence within which enables the bigger picture of the Master’s purpose to be fulfilled.

Dear God, You are the One working all things for good. I trust You with my life. Thank You for being my Master.