God's Plan for us

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

"Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,

your very great reward."

But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"...

The the word of the Lord came to him:  "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir" (Gen. 15).

When the Word of the Lord comes to us, it reveals to us the Plan of God, the Promise of God, the Power of God, the Provision of God, the Purpose of God, and the Pronouncement / Judgment of God.

Isaiah writes that God's ways, His thoughts, and His plans are not our ways, our thoughts, and our plans.  When we first begin the hear the Word of the Lord, it frightens us, because we cannot imagine how such a plan could possibly be carried out.  Mary's first question to the angel when the word of the Lord came to her was, "How shall this be, since I know not man?"  What was beyond the comprehension of both Mary and Abraham was the power and the provision of God to act in our lives.  In the book of Hebrews, Paul tells us that Abraham believed God because he figured God was able to do what He promised. 

Abraham had to learn this lesson by trusting God with his life, his possessions, his family---all that he was and had.  He literally "walked" with God and learned as he went along that God was able to do all that He promised to Abraham. It seemed when Sarah was taken into Pharoah's harem that God was not paying attention or that He was powerless with the Egyptians.  But from this situation, Abraham was able to leave Egypt a man rich in faith as well as in material possessions.  He was able to arrive in the Promised Land not as a "nobody," but as a man of significance.  He was able to purchase property and to dig wells therein for his livestock.  But he also knew as he entered the land of Philistine warriors the Power and the Provision of God to deliver him from danger and to carry out the Plan and the Purpose of God for his life. 

Once we trust God with all that we have and are and set out on the journey, we too will see the power and provision of God to carry out his plans for us.  And His plans for us are good plans:

"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" (Jer. 29:11).