"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."
Jeremiah 29:11
This promise was written in a letter that Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the the first wave of exiles who had been taken to Babylon. In the letter he tells them to settle in, build houses and raise their families, and to pray for the good of the city to which they have been exiled, because they would be there for seventy years.
That’s why the verse begins with the word “for,” meaning “because.” “Do all of this,” he says, “because I know the plans I have for you...”
The exiles believed that God had rejected them and that because they were taken away from Jerusalem they could no longer be a part of His people. Jeremiah was telling them that God had sent them to Babylon to preserve them and keep them safe. They should pay even closer attention to His Word “because I know the plans I have for you...”
When we think that God is done with us, or that there is no hope, that our situation is beyond anything that even God can use, the Lord speaks this same Word to us: Be faithful. Pay close attention to His Word - even more than before! “For I know the plans I have for you,” and they are good plans. There is hope - the sure certainty of something that you can’t see yet, but it’s coming. We don’t know what His plans are, but He does.
Lord God, keep my eyes on You when things get hard and seem impossible. Remind me of this promise when I start thinking that I’m beyond Your reach or that You’re done with me. Prepare my heart with joyFul anticipation of what’s coming next, in Your plan for me, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Dan Giles