Commanded: God's Instructions For Mankind, The Church, and You

The New: For You

"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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
(Jeremiah 29:11-14)

The next section is about what God’s instructions are for you as an individual, in a broad sense. I wanted, though, to start on a note of encouragement.

- God does have a plan- and set on instructions- for your life. You do have a future. You do have hope. In the broadest sense, that IS God’s plan for you!

And what’s amazing is what is said in the verses after well-known 11. Why is it amazing?

- Because it tells us more about His plans for us and you. His plan is to be found by us, and for us to have a deep, personal relationship with Him. He wants our dependence and devotion; in return, He promises His full and undivided attention and love. 

   
- He also plans for us to be restored to Him. I am in love with verse 14 because even though it is talking about Israel’s exile and restoration, it also speaks of our exile and our restoration. 

So what are God’s instructions for you? Well, because it is different for each person, we’re going to talk broadly on subjects that apply to each of us individually. 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
(Proverbs 3:5‭-‬6)

First, God wants your trust. This is just one of many instances where we are given instructions to trust Him in the Bible. Not only do we need to trust Him, we need to lean on Him. 

Let’s just look at that word for a second: lean.

- To lean on someone physically is an indication that you cannot support your own weight and you need their help and support to move forward. This is exactly what this verse is describing! You cannot support yourself on your own flawed understanding and need the help of a Flawless Friend and Father. 

Also, when you lean on someone for support, you are almost submitting yourself to them in a show of trust. Let me explain:

If you are injured and in need of help, and you lean on a friend for that help, what you are saying is, “I am unable to support and help myself at this moment, so I am trusting you to help me get to where I need to go.” Another beautiful picture of this verse.

When you lean on God for support, you also need to be willing to submit to Him and trust Him to take you forward as you cannot do on your own. Don’t lean on Him for a moment of rest, then keep limping forward by yourself stubbornly. Lean on Him, look at Him, and say, “Father, I am unable to support and help myself, so I am trusting myself to You and that You will take me where I need to go.” 

Ephesians 4:1-32; God has instructed you to walk in faith.

- Faith is a constant, moving trail.  It is not a chair in the middle of the race that you sit in for a minute before continuing on; no, it is the race. And though we are told that works and actions don’t save us (Eph. 2:9), there are still certain behaviors and tasks God expects of you as a believer. Why? 

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
(Ephesians 2:10)

The last broad command given to you is to do good, as you were created to do.

-This is where God’s instructions for you will start varying from those for the person next to you. This will be where spiritual gifts and callings come in, which are unique to each person.