His Perfect 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.'" - Jeremiah 29:11

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever -- do not abandon the works of your hands." - Psalm 138: 8

How many times have I heard that God's plans are perfect, the best? By now, I know in my mind that God's plans are the best. I know that even my best plans are terrible in comparison to what God has in store my future. However, how often do I truly believe with all my heart that God's plans are the best for me?

There are certain things God has placed in my heart for the future, but I forget that it's supposed to be exciting. God's plans are the best for me because he knows me. I have this image of a parent pulling a begrudging child down the street and sometimes, that's me. I forget that God is leading me through all these new experiences and opportunities that I will like. I guess it might be fear and doubt that hinder me from truly believing that God's plans are the best for me. I may not feel adequate enough It's exciting to be in God's presence and will! I want to be excited and hopeful of the future.

Trusting God has been a challenge in determining what college I wanted to attend for the next year. Near the end of junior year and the beginning of senior year, I considered applying to schools out of state. I wanted to make the decision before I started applying to schools because I didn't want to apply to schools I knew I wouldn't go to even if I got accepted (Application fees are expensive!). As I was praying, asking God whether he wanted me to stay in Maryland or go somewhere, people at church would come up to me and say "you're important here" or something along those lines. Then the messages would convict me that I needed to stay here. I was asking God why I needed to stay in Maryland. It's because the presence of God is here in Maryland. I think God really has a lot to teach me through the ministry here in these upcoming years. However, it was a struggle to make the decision to only apply to UMCP & UMBC. All my friends were applying to various colleges, here and there, and here I was applying to two schools. Everyone goes to Maryland you know? I wanted it to be my decision, not because of I had to. Now I know that God wants me to stay here, I'm excited for what he has in store for me this upcoming year! There are endless possibilities of things I could do for the future! (: