A God with Plans

The following is from Montrose Baptist Church's AM worship service on February 28, 2010.

It has been said that there is probably not a professional athlete that is respected more or loved any deeper by the hometown residents and fans than Drew Brees. Actually, the exact quote from a 2010 Sports Illustrated article describes him as “an athlete as adored and appreciated as any in an American city today.”
Drew Brees and his wife have taken an extremely active role in the rebuilding of New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Their foundation, the Brees Dream Foundation has partnered with Operation Kids to rebuild and restore academic and athletic facilities, neighborhood parks and playgrounds, mentoring programs for the intellectually disabled, after-school programs, and neighborhood revitalization projects including child-care facilities.
Their service and investment has earned the love and trust of their community. And certainly that love and affection has grown since the evening of February 7, 2010 when he led the New Orleans saints to their first ever Super Bowl championship.
For the city of New Orleans and this professional team, the storyline could not have been more appropriate. Our community knows, in some fashion, the type of devastation caused by Katrina. Added to that physical devastation of the city, the Saints football team had suffered the infamy of a forty plus year drought of so much as a conference championship. The storyline seemed to just beg something big to happen.
And we know how history will reflect their story. It is marked by a Super Bowl victory this February.
Every commentary I’ve solicited, every opinion I’ve read, every article that I’ve found in print has shared an understanding of the importance of Drew Brees’ performance and leadership for his team. As the MVP of the Super Bowl, it is a general consensus that his contribution was a major element in their story of success.
Following a Super Bowl victory, life is good for the Saints’ quarterback right now. God’s plan seems good. However, that has not always been the case.
In the last game of the 2005 season against the Denver Broncos, Brees severely injured his shoulder while trying to pick up his own fumble after being hit by John Lynch. While Brees was on the ground, Gerard Warren hit the quarterback and tore the labrum in his throwing shoulder and damaged his rotator cuff.
Brees was playing for the San Diego Chargers at the time. Following arthroscopic surgery, there were serious doubts about his recovery and playing ability. After determining that his club was suspicious of his health, Brees began to shop for another team.
There were only two teams that seemed interested. The Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints were the only clubs to pursue the injured quarterback. Eventually, the Dolphins determined that Brees was too big of a risk, and New Orleans scurried to sign him.
Since that time, Brees has earned a reputation as one of the premier passers in professional football.
In an interview following the team’s victorious season, Brees was quick to point out his understanding of God’s plan. In fact, he even said that his injury was a gift from God- and his move to New Orleans was a calling.
For this man, God took what seemed to be difficult, damaging, even detrimental and turned it into a testimony of the greatness of His plan for His children.
We must remember that history is littered with stories just like these. Our God is the One that has a unique plan for you and I. In fact, even in times of difficulty and doubt, God is moving us toward the fullness of His good and perfect plan.
I would invite you to look with me this morning at one of the two verses that I claim as a life verse. We are going to be in Jeremiah 29.

Read text. (Jeremiah 29:11)

I am certain that many of you have heard or even quoted this passage at some point during your life. And I believe that it contains a message that we need to hear as God’s people in this unique time.
While we are quick to quote this passage, we don’t often recognize the circumstances surrounding this address and the context of the message.
This message was actually sent from the prophet Jeremiah to those that were exiled in Babylon. You may recall the story of Daniel, and the captivity of the Jewish people under Nebuchadnezzar.
God’s people are on foreign soil under a foreign ruler. They are struggling to keep their faith and deal with the reality of their captivity.
However, God has a message of instruction, hope and promise to His people. But it has some terms that we might not expect.
In His address, God communicates a couple of difficult truths. First, if you look at the description of who carried the people into exile- it acknowledges Nebuchadnezzar, but it also recognizes that it was ultimately God’s allowance.
Then if you keep going further, we find that their period of captivity is going to last for seventy years.
Now, neither of these two things sound like a great promise or plan. However, we have to remember that we serve the God that can transform a seemingly painful experience into a marvelous reason for celebration. And in His message, in His call to take heart, we find the famed passage of Jeremiah 29:11.
That brings us to what we find and claim. As we look at this particular passage, there are four amazing things that we find. First, we see…

1.) God’s Providence
“For I know…”
I don’t know if you’ve ever taken time to slow down and realize what those three little words mean. We are promised that God knows. But what? What does He know and understand?
Specifically in this instance, we are assured of God’s understanding, His foreknowledge of His plan for our future. However, His knowledge is not limited to just His plan.
Rather, in such a time as this it is important for us to simply remember that God knows.
He knows where we are at. In my personal life, He knows what is going on with the Fidler clan. In the life of His church, He knows what is happening here at Montrose. He knows the chaos and the uncertainty. He knows all of the specifics of the circumstances here.
Now, that is an amazing promise in itself.
Stop and consider this for just a moment: There are approximately 6.6 billion people in the world today. Additionally, the earth spans approximately 197 million square miles. Now, it seems as if it would be easy for us to get lost in the chaos of everything that happens around us. In fact, we can‘t even keep up with everything that is happening with the people in our immediate community. However, our God stills knows what is happening in our lives personally.
He knows.
He knows His plan. He knows our circumstances. He knows our emotions.
I know that many of you are probably just ready to be done with this whole transition thing. I know that I personally await the day when the pain will subside a little. This has been one of the most difficult occasions of my life- leaving the church that has shown such love to me and my family for the past three years. It is easy to be overcome with emotion.
But what a promise we have. God knows. He knows our pains, our fears, our attitudes. He knows exactly what we are feeling and going through.
He is not removed and distant. Rather, He knows His plan and His creation. When we look at the promise of Jeremiah 29:11, we first find God’s providence. Next, we note…

2.) God’s Plan
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.
While it should be an incredible comfort to know that God knows our circumstances and emotions, we can find further comfort in the fact that He has a plan.
It is a comfort to know that everything that happens around us is not just the result of happenstance. Rather, God has a unique and perfect plan for His people.
Now, please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not suggesting that God’s plan is without hardship or difficulty. I am not saying that it is easy or even completely pleasant. Remember, God told the Israelites that they would live under that oppression for seventy years before the next step of His plan can to fruition.
We don’t find encouragement that the plan will be without trials. Rather, we take heart in the simple fact that God has a plan.
Now, I don’t know about your personality, but I am not that organized. In fact, I tend to deal with things as they present themselves. I realize that it is not the best of approaches, but it has become a practice nonetheless.
While I might go through times without much structure, my mom is different. If you ask her, she will tell you that she is a planner. When she is presented with a task, she attacks it- with pen, paper, a list, and a calendar. She prepares herself as thoroughly as possible. She even addresses details in her plans. Those things that she is given authority over are given direction and purpose because of her plan.
That is exactly the way it is with God. Our lives have purpose, meaning, and direction because God has thought enough of us to carefully plan the best for us.
We take heart in the fact that our lives have a divine plan. We celebrate the fact that this life is not a series of disconnected random events. We find hope in these facts.
Yet, we must recognize, while His plan may not always be pleasant at every point, it is not always logical either. God’s plans don’t always follow the rules of logic and reason. Rather, He does what He wants for His glory and our good.
Once again, when you return to the circumstances surrounding the original delivery of this message, the Israelites were told of God’s plan for deliverance. However, God’s method of deliverance was certainly outside the realm of expectation.
Rather than miraculously overthrowing the government with fire billowing from heaven, God used King Cyrus of Persia. He used a man that simply believed in respecting the religions of the lands he conquered. God ordained that this man, who would be sympathetic to the Jews, would come to power and fulfill His plan.
God’s plan for us often is fulfilled in remarkably strange ways as well. However, that is part of what we celebrate. We celebrate God’s plan, and that it is big enough to incorporate the lives of people we wouldn’t anticipate.
We find God’s providence, His plan, next…

3.) God’s Promise
“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.”We take hope in the fact that God knows us. He knows our circumstances, our emotions, our frailties. We celebrate the fact that He has a plan. And then as we continue to progress through this verse, we find His promise.
It is remarkable that the Almighty God of creation would have a personalized plan for you and I. However, it is evidence of the greatness of His grace that His plan contains an incredible promise.
His promise is that His plan leads to hope and a future. It is a plan that desires to build us up, rather than tear us down. It is a plan for success, not suffering.
Once again, it is important to note that His plan often includes seasons of difficulty and suffering. However, God is speaking to the ultimate end of His plan. Ultimately, His plan is for our good.
You know, there are times I wonder if we don’t grossly misunderstand the grace of certain elements of God’s plan for our lives. During seasons of suffering and pain, we wonder when God is going to move us toward that plan of prosperity and hope.
Often, we don’t realize that we are in the midst of those prosperous seasons during “difficult” times.
For example, we are quick to complain about times when God’s plan and our comfort don’t meet. However, it is important to remember that in those times, God is teaching us patience. In times of personal trial, He is building character. In seasons of grief, He is magnifying our understanding of joy.
God’s plan is always for our good. We have that promise.
In your life now, and in the life of His church, His plan, even now, if promised to be for our good.
We note God’s providence. We see evidence of His plan. We find hope in His promise. And lastly, we note…

4.) God’s Power

Now this question might seem a little cynical, but I believe that it needs to be asked. We’ve talked about God’s understanding. We investigated His plan. We’ve claimed His promise. But the real question is: Does God have the power to make these things happen? Can He deliver on the promises He has made?
Let me offer you a couple of passages quickly that assure us that He is big enough to see His plan through.
First, Isaiah 14:24 says, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’” God provides the assurance that it will come to pass. He promises He has the power.
Next, Luke 1:37 says it concisely and to the point. “For with God, nothing is impossible.” God provides us with every indication and ample proof that He is powerful enough to fulfill the promises He’s made. And so we rest on His Word.
Maybe in trying to find proof of God's power, you look at these verses and find that they are God's personal claim. They are just words. Maybe, you are a "show me" kind-of person. If that is the case, I would invite you to look at Daniel 3. You may recall the story of Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. (or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) In their story, God proved His power to deliver on His promise.
As they were in the fiery furnace, King Nebuchadnezzar commented that the fourth looked as "the Son of God." And later, in celebration of the fact, he says that God sent "an Angel." We know that God delivered these men.
The fun with this often told story is in our opportunity to speculate about the identity of the angel. It could have very well been an angel. Or the other possibility is that this could have been a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. (In the Old Testament, He was identified as "the Angel of the Lord")
Not only did God prove Himself powerful enough to protect and deliver His people, but He was physically present in their time of need. As they stood in the midst of the roaring flames, God was personally present.
God knows. He has a plan. His plan is full of promise. He is powerful enough to deliver on that promise.
I’ve struggled over these past weeks with the decision that God has called for me and my family to make. To say that it hurts doesn’t do it justice. And I don’t pretend to understand the emotions that you are feeling. Some, I suppose, are sad. Others may actually be glad to be rid of us. A few may even be mad.
It is a time of transition and uncertainty for all of us. However, I believe that Jeremiah 29:11 contains the promise that we all need to cling to tightly in this time.
Despite my desire to remain with you, it is apparent to me that God is calling us elsewhere. And in doing so, He is actually beginning a new phase of His plan for Montrose Baptist Church as well. And so let me offer all of the encouragement I can.
The message from God to the Israelites in captivity is still applicable to us. We can take hope in the simple facts of this passage. God knows. He knows our circumstances. He understands our needs. He feels our pains. He knows.
While He knows all about us, He has a plan for you and I as well. He has a unique, customized plan for my family and your congregation.
And remember the promise that we find about His plan. God’s plan is not to cause us undue pain. It is not meant to make us suffer for suffering’s sake. It is not some ill-aimed attempt to repay us for the ways that we’ve fallen short of His will. Rather, His plan is for our prosperity. His plan is one of hope and a future. God has a wonderful plan for our future. In this time, let us grip that promise tightly.