One of the most familiar and hope-filled passages of Scripture is Jeremiah 29:11: “‘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’” (NIV).

God knows the plan. It’s not about you, your efforts, or your strength. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God was telling the people of Israel,I got this. I already have things organized for your life. I have plans, and they’re not bad plans, so you have to trust Me.

God is in your future today. God knows your tomorrow today.

Maybe the reason you’re so stressed is not because of everything that’s going on outside you. Perhaps you’re stressed because of the warfare that’s going on in your heart and mind. Your plan and God’s plan are in a battle. That’s why you can’t sleep or your head hurts, why you’re not hungry or you overeat, why you work out so hard but never seem to feel any better, or why you just binge-watch shows. The reason you can never be at peace is because on the inside you’re trying to be God!

Remember, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Guess what? God is a better Lord than you!

When you want things to turn out a certain way, you’re trying to take God’s job. What you’re ultimately telling God is that you don’t trust how He will write your story.

In verse 1 of Psalm 91, the psalmist says, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (NIV). “Dwells” in Hebrew isyashab, which means “to remain” or “abide in.” So, when you understand that the Lord is your refuge and you make the Most High your root system, no harm will overtake you.

God is running things. He is in control. When God is your root system, He nourishes you. God is not just your resource; He is your source.

Dear Heavenly Father, help me remember that You control the outcome. I trust You more than my own efforts. Right now, I surrender everything to You. Heal my heart and direct all my steps. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Endless ser­mons and podcasts and books rightly tell us that the safest place to be is in the will of God. But how do you know God’s will for your life? How do you identify God’s hand on a thing instead of your own?

One way God lets us know that something is not His will is through warnings. He cautions us. He shows us red flags.

But here’s the hard thing: It’ll be tough for you to see the spiritual red flags when you have already decided what you want God to say!

Let’s look at Acts 16:6-8 in The Message:

[Paul and Timothy] went to Phrygia, and then on through the re­gion of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there ei­ther. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.

Look at these two words: “their plan.” Paul and Timothy’s plan was to turn west. We all make plans, right? A plan to marry that person, to start that business or ministry, to move to this place. In Paul and Timothy’s case, the Holy Spirit blocked them—not once but twice. God was telling them, My will is not here, and My will is not there. Paul, I need you to go on through Mysia.

How many times does the Holy Spirit block us? Yet when things don’t work out for us, we tend to take matters into our own hands or find our own reasons:

I’ve got to keep push­ing.

This is just bad weather.

The devil is doing this.

1 Corinthians 2:9-13 reads “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”

Can you identify the blocking of the Holy Spirit? Remember, you can’t have the rewarding if you overlook the warning. And whatever you don’t deal with in this season will show up in the front row of your heart in the next season.

Dear Father, give me the wisdom and guidance to know Your will. Help me be someone who loves You and who is fully submitted to Your will so that I can glorify You. In Jesus’s name, amen.

Is your mind crowded by worries, what-ifs, and lies? Sometimes our minds have a death grip on the hypothetical and a loose grip on God’s historical. We fail to think about what God has done; instead, we focus on what we fear might happen.

If you battle with overthinking or if hypotheticals plague your mind, recall the following Scrip­ture passages and remember, as Moses cautioned the Israelites:

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. (Deuteronomy 8:2 NIV)

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. (verse 11 NIV)

The psalmist wrote, “I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11, NKJV).

After Jonah disobeyed God and ran away from Him, only to find himself sitting in a fish’s stomach acid, he prayed, “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple” (Jonah 2:7 NIV).

The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us: “Remember your Cre­ator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come” (12:1 NIV).

During the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples to remember: “He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’ ” (Luke 22:19 NIV).

How do you fight overthinking and worrying? You remember! You remember how far God has brought you:

I used to scroll through porn on my phone, but now I’m studying Scripture.

The breakup of that relationship was so painful! But God has helped me see that it wasn’t His best for me. I remember the fear and worry about whether I had enough to pay the next month’s rent. But God provided. Don’t overthink. Remember!

Lord, remind me of where I was before You found me. Remind me of how You’ve shown me Your holiness and Your might in my life. In Jesus’s name, amen.