An Unexpected Handstand
Jeremiah 29:11 “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.”
This is a great scripture verse to memorize or to put up somewhere where you will see it often. Sometimes it does not feel like God is for us. Actually sometimes it can seem like He is against us. We can go through long periods of life where it feels like everything is against us. This is when it is good to have this scripture verse to look at to remind you that God is for you. Someone in my prayer group asked for prayers for a friend the other day. She said this couple is really struggling to see God’s plan in everything that is going on. The couple has been trying to have a baby for a long time. The wife has had several miscarriages and is really starting to wonder if she will ever have a baby. They turned their struggle over to God and they asked Him for help. They asked what they could do and for God to reveal anything that might be getting in the way of them having a baby. The other day they found out that she was pregnant and they are very much praying this is the time they get to carry their baby to term.
When you are in one of these really difficult stretches of time, it can be really hard sometimes not to lose faith. You may ask yourself, what is even the point of continuing to believe when it seems like God has forgotten about you. I promise He is still with you, even in this hard time. If you continue reading after this passage in Jeremiah 29:12-14 it says, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The couple that was trying to have a baby, they continued to pray, even though they didn’t understand why this was all happening. They continued to seek where God was in all of this and they found Him.
I know that depending on your situation and how long it has been going on, it may be difficult to pray. You may want to, but just aren’t sure what to say at this point. Or, maybe you feel like you have been praying for so long that God is not listening anymore. I assure you, He is still listening. He always listens to us and wants good for us. The Lord is always truthful and always keeps His promises. So, when He says that His plans for us are to prosper and not for harm, then He means it. If you are struggling to pray, reach out and ask a friend, co-worker, priest, minister, family member, anyone to pray for you, maybe even to pray with you. It says in Matthew 18:20 “ For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
There is power in praying with fellow believers. If you are praying for something and not seeing the results that you wanted to see, ask others to pray with you. I went to a healing service the other night and instead of having one or two people pray over those wanting healing, the priest had everyone sitting around that person put their hands on the one needing healing and pray for them. It was very powerful to see all the people that needed healing surrounded by fellow believers praying for them.
God wants good things for you. He wants you to have a future and to have hope. So, why don’t we, what gets in our way of seeing this future that God wants us to have? There are several things that can get in the way. Sometimes, we get in our own way. Even though we know how God is calling us to live, we deviate from that because it is really hard or because it is not the norm in society today. Living the way Jesus wants us to live can go against what we are taught in society. We can look foolish when we follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever had a still small voice in your head that was telling you to do something that didn’t make sense at the time? Did you listen to it?
The Holy Spirit is inside each of us and He tries to guide us to the right path. But sometimes we can’t see where He is leading us. Sometimes He asks us to do things and we don’t because they seem crazy or we don’t understand where it will get us. I heard a story in a book I read called “The Cross and the Switchblade” by David Wilkerson about a woman who had learned to listen to that voice inside her. One morning she was heading out to work when she felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to bring her fuzzy socks to work with her. She thought this was a very strange request, but since she had learned to listen, she went and grabbed her fuzzy socks and threw them in her purse. When she got to work, there was a prostitute on her front step and she was passed out. She brought her inside and warmed her up. They got to talking and this woman asked the prostitute if she could have anything, what would it be. Do you know what she said? Fuzzy socks. The woman was so surprised and gave her fuzzy socks to the prostitute. The prostitute was so happy and said, “They even match my outfit.”
There is another story I heard from a person in a leadership course I was taking. They were talking about how a woman in their group at church had made a commitment to the Holy Spirit that she would follow any prompting she received, no matter how crazy it seemed. One night she was driving home and she felt the Holy Spirit asking her to do a hand stand. Now, this definitely seemed crazy. She was no spring chicken and she had not done a hand stand since she was a child. However, she couldn’t shake this feeling. She pulled over to a gas station where no one was around and went under the one light, and did a hand stand. When walking back to her car, the clerk came out of the store and thanked her. She asked him why he was thanking her and he said they have cameras in the store and he saw her hand stand. He had been feeling very low and abandoned lately and had wanted to kill himself. He made a deal with God that if he saw someone do a handstand that day he would not do it. He never dreamed that he would actually see someone do a handstand and he was so thankful he did.
Even when we get in our own way, God can use our mistakes for good. He is that amazing. Most of the time when we are in a difficult situation we can’t imagine how any good can come from it. It is usually many years down the road when we are out of the difficult situation that we can look back and see some good coming out of it. Often times that good might just be the growth or the strength we gained from the situation. Sometimes it can be the experience or the knowledge we gained from that situation that enabled us to get the job of our dreams or the relationship we always wanted.
If you are struggling right now I hope Jeremiah 29:11 brings you some comfort. If you are struggling to pray I urge you to find someone to either pray for you or to pray with you. God is always with you. He hears every one of your prayers. He will carry you through this difficult time and He will bring you out even better on the other side of it. When you are really struggling remind your self that God has promised good things for you and God never breaks His promises. Hang in there, I promise amazing things are headed your way if you just keep asking for them.
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you are with all those that are struggling right now. I pray that you give strength to those that find themselves in a really difficult situation. Lord, I know so many people are struggling with a lot right now. I know several ladies that are really hurting. Lord, I ask that you comfort them and you let them know that you are with them. I ask that you give the strength to make it through this hard time and the knowledge that you don’t want them to suffer. I ask that you help them to believe your promise of a future and of hope. I ask that you help them feel loved and take away any feelings of abandonment that they may have. Lord I ask that you bless all those that are struggling and all those that are listening to this right now, whether they are struggling or not. I ask that you bless them and strengthen them for all they are facing. Lord Jesus, we love so you much and we know how much you do for us. You are truly amazing and we thank you for loving us so much that you make all things for our good. Lord, we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.
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