Jeremiah 29:11 “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.” (NIV)
As parents, we start very early helping our children have big hope for their futures. Watching them develop as their imagination starts to grow when they pretend and talk about “when I get big…” is so fun while raising champions. Danny and I were always big believers in allowing our boys to have huge hope for whatever they wanted to believe for their futures. No dream was too big in the McDaniel household. They talked about being a superhero, professional football player, race car driver, professional fisherman and the president of the United States to name a few. Whatever they showed interest in we would be interested in with them.
We knew as they grew older, their true desires would start to take shape, but we would never discourage or question their interest, just try to understand them. If we don’t teach our children to think bigger than average, then who will? I felt as I was raising my children, we were often cleaning up the mess of confusion that other adults were speaking in their life. Teachers, coaches, friends and their parents would speak contradictory words and even tell them they were dreaming too big. I’m not sure why other adults felt the need to “bring reality” to my child’s hope for his future, but it was a big wake up call that many do not have the desire to have a prosperity mindset. As parents, we can never let our children stop having hope for the future they desire, whatever it is! Our job as a parent is to fuel their hopes and take pleasure in what gives them pleasure. If that is the case for us, and our own children, then we can understand how God would have that same heart.
What an incredible joy it is to know that God is interested in our interests…yes, even football! When God knows that something brings us joy, He creates an opportunity for us to build a stronger relationship and intimacy with Him. He will take pleasure in our pleasures. Think about it, Psalms 37:4 talks about the desires of our heart. That is the reality of us having an opportunity to dream. In Habakkuk 2, He talks about writing down our vision, running with it, waiting on it, and that our vision will surely come. I love this scripture because it reminds us that our hopes will surely come if we wait for His timing. In Matthew 7:7 it reads, “Ask, and the gift is yours. Seek, and you’ll discover. Knock, and the door will be opened for you.” These scriptures are clear that God wants us to go after what we want in life. There is additional peace in knowing Jeremiah 29:11 states “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm, plans to give you hope and a future.” How sweet is that? When we delight in Him, He loves the things we love and there is great hope knowing that ultimately He understands our heart’s desires. Therefore, we should hope exactly as these scriptures suggest. Believe that we will win, that there will not be harm to our children and that our season is long and victorious!
LOVE THIS: “As parents, we can never let our children stop having hope for the future they desire, whatever it is! Our job as a parent is to fuel their hopes and take pleasure in what gives them pleasure.”