““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

We can’t see where God’s path for us leads, so we just follow God as He shows us the steps!

Did you know that God has a plan for you? This verse from Jeremiah tells us that God does have a plan for us and that His plan is to “prosper” us. That means to make us successful. God wants us to do well. He doesn’t hurt us. He wants us to have hope and a future. When we choose to be close to God and find out all we can about Him, He will give us blessings in life.

God gives us gifts, special talents, and desires, things we like to do, so that we can follow His will for us, His plan for our future, His path for our lives. What things do you like to do? What are you really good at? When you think of your future, what do you want to do? God guides us as we live our lives.

God doesn’t just tell us what He wants us to do or show us the whole plan. He guides us along the way, and He lets us take small steps along the way that make us ready for all He sees for us. Sometimes God will even block our path, if we get off track. He will gently guide us back to our path.

Remember the story of David and Goliath? When David was young, he took care of his father’s sheep and did chores for his brothers because he was the youngest. I’m sure his brothers teased him a lot. But because David was a shepherd, he spent time alone (with just lots of sheep!). And during this time he relied on God to help him in troubles and he talked to God. In the Bible, it tells us he was a young man “after God’s own heart”.

David was probably only ten to fifteen years old when the prophet Samuel anointed him as the future king of Israel! Anointed means that Samuel poured a special oil on him to show he was chosen by God. He was still just a boy or young teenager. He was also this same age when he went to take his older brothers some food when they were in the army; and when he fought and defeated the giant, Goliath, with God’s help.

But David did not become king after defeating Goliath even though he had been anointed to be the next king. He served the current king of Israel, Saul. He played music for him. He and Saul’s son, Jonathan, became best friends. As David grew into a man, he married and became a leader in Saul’s army. But Saul was jealous of David and angry that David had been anointed as the next king. Saul chased after him and tried to kill David. But David, with Jonathan’s help avoided Saul and always tried to do what was right.

David did not become king of Israel until he was about 30 years old! All the time in between, David learned to handle troubles with God’s help. He learned the skills that would help to make him a great king. He made friends and he learned to be a good and fair leader. He learned how to work well with people. David was by no means perfect, none of us are, but all of these challenges helped to make David a better king.

This week think about all the things you like to do, think about what you might want to do someday, and draw a picture of what your future might look like. Share your ideas with your parents and God. But most of all, enjoy your life, enjoy your family, enjoy everything, and enjoy wherever God may lead you.

Blessings always as you discover where God leads you along the path of His plan for you!