I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU

I was woken out of a sound sleep this morning at 6:27 am to a screeching sound much like the friction sound made from a hand rubbing over dry glass.  It was loud!  The sound got the cat howling in a way I've never heard before. It really got my attention. (I believe God wanted my full attention).  It was then that this bible verse came to me.  "I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not evil".  I remember reading it in my bible, but couldn't recall where, other than knowing it was in the old testament.  I looked it up and found it in Jeremiah 29:11.  The New King James Version says this:  "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope". The New American Standard Bible words it this way: "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope".  It is interesting to note that Jeremiah 29 is a message to the exiles held captive in Babylon.  God is giving them a word of encouragement.  Today, with all the negative things we read in the news, we can sure benefit from a word of encouragement from the LORD.  I believe God is telling us that no matter what we see happening around us and to us, we should not fret, nor lose faith, for He is in control, and the plans that he He has for us are good.

Psalm 91: 5-7  You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.  A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.