Photo By Michael Breece, Fort Lauderdale Sunrise, 2019
Verse To Abide In
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.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Digging Deeper
“…the heart of the verse is ‘not that we would escape our lot, but that we would learn to thrive’ in the midst of it.
Here’s the context for Jeremiah 29: the Israelites were in exile, a punishment from God as a result of their disobedience. The prophet Jeremiah confronts the false prophet, Hananiah, who had boldly proclaimed that God was going to free Israel from Babylon in two years (spoiler alert: God doesn’t do this).
Jeremiah calls out Hananiah’s lie, and then states the promise we read in 29:11. God does indeed have a good plan for the Israelites, and it is a plan that will give them hope and a prospering future. Sounds good, right?
The thing is, before he shares this promise, just a few verses earlier, he gives them this directive from God: “seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (29:7)
This is not at all what the Israelites wanted to hear! They wanted to be told that they were going to go home. They wanted to be told that their suffering was going to end. Instead, God’s plan was for them to stay right where they were, and to help prosper the nation that enslaved them!
And then came the biggest blow of all. In verse 10, God says that he would fulfill this ‘after seventy years are completed in Babylon.’ This meant that none in the current generation of Israelites would ever return to their home.
What a crushing thing to be told!
Mary DeMuth writes:
'Yes, of course God knows the plans He has for us. And ultimately He will give us a glorious future. But as we walk out our lives on this crazy earth, let’s remember that the best growth comes through persevering through trials, not escaping them entirely. And when we learn perseverance, we find surprising joy….’”
https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-daily-bible-verse/don-t-take-jeremiah-29-11-out-of-context-bible-study-minute-august-30-2017.html
Let's Pray
Abba Father, we are in awe of how you are working continuously through generations. It is hard to fathom how you could make this promise to Israel—to deliver them in 70 years and bring them back home to the promised land you had for them. Thank you for being a promise keeper. We trust and thank you that every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from you, the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1:17 NIV). We praise you. We bow our hearts before you, and we praise you in the name of Jesus and in your Spirit. Amen.