Jeremiah 29:11-13
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 on 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.
One of the main reasons we are not receiving God’s best is because we are willing to settle for less. Very few are committed to God’s best. We have been influenced more by the world than by God’s Word and “dumbed down” to accept far less than what God has provided. As long as you can live with less than God’s best, you will. That is a powerful truth.
You have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired before you will aggressively pursue God’s best. You have to have a holy dissatisfaction with mediocrity before you can experience all that God has for you. It doesn’t happen accidentally or automatically. If you don’t pursue it, you won’t get it.
God’s Plans Provide God’s Best
Jeremiah 29:11 says,
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.
When the Lord spoke to Jeremiah to write these words, Israel was devastated. The city of Jerusalem had been destroyed, and many people had been taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Thoughts of peace were probably the last thing on their minds.
But even during unpeaceful times in our lives, we must have this assurance that God has a plan for our lives. And that plan is better than what our unpeaceful situation is currently providing for us. In essence, God’s plan for our life is God’s best for us.
Seeking God Provides God’s Best
But Jeremiah went on to say in verses 12-13,
12 Then you will call on 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.
The key is, we have to seek God with all our hearts. That’s the missing element. We have to reach a point where we won’t live with anything less than God’s best.
That attitude is missing in the lives of far too many Christians. The bar of expectations, even within the church, has been lowered regarding healing, finances, and more. There is such a fear that someone might be disappointed and, therefore, condemned that many ministers have been teaching people to settle for less and avoid disappointment.
One of these days, we are all going to stand before God. And when we do, we will know all things even as we are known (1 Cor. 13:12). In an instant, we are going to know what we could have had while on this earth. We will understand that the same power that raised Christ from the dead was resident within us all along (Eph. 1:18-20).
Faithful Stand for God’s Best
Unless you’re willing to stand and fight the fight of faith, you will be overcome by this world. If you don’t stir yourself up, you will settle to the bottom. The world isn’t going to encourage you toward God’s best, and most Christians aren’t either. I encourage you to begin receiving God’s best.
You will never receive and live in God’s best until you become completely dissatisfied with what the second so-called best of the world. Amen
Pastor John Punni