Through the Traffic Jams of Life, God is Still Guiding Us
Thursday’s Verse:
From Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Last evening, as I headed over to church for our Wednesday Lenten church service at Holy Trinity in Garfield, I flipped on 1010 WINS, where the reporter was warning about the Henry Hudson Parkway into Manhattan (only the left lane was open) and how the Major Deegan was in its usual rush hour slowdown. I’ve always loved listening to the traffic reports on the former NewsRadio 880 (Traffic and Weather on the 8’s). When I was in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for seminary, I could, at night, listen to New York City clear-channel radio stations (50,000-watt blowtorches that could send their signals far and wide as long as other smaller-powered stations turned down their wattages at night) and then smile at reports of backups on the BQE and the New Jersey Turnpike.
Traffic jams are a reality check on life. We make plans and expect the road ahead to be clear. Then something changes. A traffic jam. Road construction. Slow drivers. And we quietly scream as we sit in our cars or on the bus.
Jeremiah spoke God’s words to people who felt exactly that way. Israel was in exile. Their lives had been uprooted. The future looked blocked off, like a highway full of brake lights. Yet in that moment God said, “I know the plans I have for you.”
Notice something important. God does not say, You know the plans. He says I know them.
Comfort does not come from seeing the whole map. Comfort comes from knowing the Navigator.
The Lord who spoke through Jeremiah is the same Lord who sent Jesus Christ to save His people. At the cross, it sure didn’t feel like things were going according to plan. But in God’s perfect plan, that very moment was the solution to sin and death—the beginning of salvation and life for all who would believe.
So the next time you find yourself on an unclear road with obstacles and delays all around, remember that God has not forgotten His promise. His plans for us are not plans to harm us. They are plans for a future and a hope. In Jesus, our hope is secured.
Even when the road is jammed, God is guiding His people home.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord, when our plans come to a halt and we cannot see the road ahead clearly, remind us that You are in control of our future. Give us grace to wait through life’s delays, trusting Your promises instead of our own understanding. Keep our eyes focused on Christ, who has forever secured our hope of eternal life. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo above is licensed through Unsplash+