Growing up, one of my favorite shows was The A-Team. You know that show: Mr. T and the gang were supposedly undercover - though they drove around in a black van that stuck out like a sore thumb.

The part I enjoyed about the show - other than the car crashes and the explosions or gunshots where no one ever got hurt - was the end of each show. Hannibal Smith, the group leader, would always say, "I love it when a plan comes together." Throughout the whole program he'd work his plan to thwart the bad guys - and in the end his plan always succeeded.

In Scripture we hear about another plan working out: God's plan for the Israelites. "'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).

A little background. The Children of Israel were captives in the Babylon. Spirits were low. Never before had they received such a beating from a heathen nation. Thoughts of doubt filled their heads. Some thought this would be it for their nation. God spoke to comfort them. These words comfort us, too.

God has plans for you and me. We, too, are in prison - not in a foreign country but in our sin. Sin infects relationships in our homes, with our friends, or on our jobs. Sins abound (not sin's - abound is missing) in the classroom and on the playing field. We can't break free.

Yet God has a plan to free us. John 3:16: "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." His plan required the death of his Son; it required Jesus to be our substitute. God's plan gives us full and free forgiveness - and a bright future.

The anniversary of September 11th is here. Thoughts about what happened then and what may happen crowd our mind. They can overpower us with fear and doubt. Then there's the normal problems: the struggle to fit in, losing the dating game, the English or math that doesn't click, the pain of a broken home, the loneliness of mourning a loved one. All of this can lead us to doubt the plans that God has.

Yet God has everything under control. The God who takes care of us is the God who parts the sea, walks on water, feeds the 5,000, and conquers death. He is not some imaginary hero on TV. He is real.

Whatever is ahead for us, God knows about it and has worked it into his plan for us. Listen again: "I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Here's a plan we can trust because we know where it ends up. When our journey comes to end, we and all who trust Jesus as Savior will stand before his throne and will see the full extent of that plan.

Hannibal Smith loved it when his plans came together. We've got much more to love when God's plans come together, plans - guaranteed in Jesus - to give us hope and future.

Now check out another way to look at trusting God's plan for you: "Jump!"

Clark Schultz is the recruitment director at Luther Prep School in Watertown, Wisconsin.