God's Good Plan: Jeremiah 29:11

God’s Good Plan
South Puget Sound Women of Vision
July Devotional

Having just put my townhouse on the market as a short sale and making an appointment with the bankruptcy attorney while recovering from a hysterectomy three weeks earlier, I was challenged by the verse on my bathroom wall plaque: “For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. As I was brushing my teeth I questioned, “Are these present financial circumstances really God’s good plan for my life?”

There are times in our lives when circumstances belie our beliefs. Events surround us that challenge the Word of God that permeates our soul. The Word of God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God promises good plans yet, circumstances happen that appear anything but good. This is such a time in my life and God has graced me with time during recovery from surgery to reflect. Had I missed the good plan? How did I get into this financial disaster?

In retrospect, I recall the caution from my dear CPA friend who whispered “What if the market crashes? This investment in the townhouse is putting you right at the edge?” I sought counsel from other professionals who encouraged the short term investment and echoed my reasoning that the market couldn’t drop that much in 24 months. After all, I had the opportunity to make a $20,000 profit after I flipped the property with a $30,000 remodel. It was guaranteed. It was a good plan. I ignored that still, small Voice that God had sent through my friend.

I remember when the remodel was complete. The property was vastly improved with beautiful cherry wood floors, new carpet, new fixtures, new stainless steel appliances, new sinks, new windows, and new window treatments. All the “newness” was wonderful. I was confident that sitting out the next 24 months with high mortgage payments would be easy as I let the allotted time lapse before I could resell without penalty. On the 25th month after closing, I would simply put the property on the market and bank the $20,000 in savings. It was 2006 when I made this investment. What a good plan it was for my future. As I pondered my retirement I was certain that this must be God’s good plan for me.

However, within six months after the purchase of the townhouse the US market dropped in one of the biggest declines in recent history. The situation surrounding the townhouse worsened day by day. The property had more black mold then the initial inspection revealed and the crawl space was rat infested, a situation I fought for two years. The homeowners association changed the general maintenance fund, divided the monies into per unit accounts and debited all accounts for expenses since 1988. Because of previous excessive repairs, my account was zero. Shortly after, assessments were made for siding repairs, exterior painting, and a new roof. With a painting assessment lurking in the near future the $15,000 for those assessments would soon become $18,250 added to the high mortgage payments causing monthly debt. After three and a half years of continued debt accumulation, it was clearly time to put the property on the market as a short sale and get out of this upside down investment. In that short amount of time, I had gone from debt-free to debt bound. My savings account balance was zero. The good plan seemed anything but “good”.

How do we face such trails? As Christians we have the Lord and His Holy Spirit, the scriptures, and family and friends for guidance and support but we also have free will. Despite what we have in Christ, do we become angry, bitter and vengeful? Even with support from family and friends, do we engage in self pity and grovel in sadness? As I reflected and considered these questions it occurred to me that indeed we might choose some of these things for a time. Sometimes it is part of the process. However, aren’t we compelled to be better than that through Christ who strengthens us? God’s good plan for us doesn’t change with dire circumstances. All circumstances work together for the good to bring about God’s good plan for our lives. Did I have the faith to stand on that belief?

I see the bankruptcy attorney tomorrow. I complete piles of bankruptcy forms today. As I brush my teeth before I go to bed tonight it is my determination to believe that plaque on the bathroom wall and through God’s mercy and grace be better than these circumstances through Christ who strengthens me. I am listening to God’s still, quiet voice. I reflect on God’s faithfulness over the past 35 years of my journey with Him. Yes, God does have a plan for my life for good and not for calamity that does give me a future and a hope. Yes, all things do work together for the good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Yes, God’s love never fails and His Word is the same yesterday and forever. These are the promises that I hold as I work through these financial trails. All of us face difficulties, but as we stand firm on God’s promises by faith, nothing can overcome God’s will for our lives or God’s good plan. We can bank on it!