Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Thoughts from Pastor Josh
Dive Deeper
Behind the Scenes
Ahhh what a sweet, cozy, comfy verse… but wait. The verse that precedes this verse is not the one that we have memorized. Its implications are devastating…but if we choose to see God’s plan in it, it’s even more beautiful. Jeremiah 29:10 says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”
Um…the Israelites were just told that they were exiled for seventy years. Seventy years! If God told me that I would be imprisoned for seventy years, I would believe my life was over before conceding that God is still good. I immediately thought about Nelson Mandela’s twenty-seven years in prison. Talk about a great example of choosing to prosper amidst suffering!
The message of Jeremiah 29:11 is not the security blanket I grew up wrapping myself in, that’s for sure. God was telling them that amidst their suffering, He had purpose in it. He wanted the nation that led them to exile to experience prosperity through the Israelites. Talk about obedience and sacrifice.
Make it Real
This had me thinking about times in my life when I’ve felt suffering and waited for it to end. The hard truth is that suffering will always exist to varying degrees. We go through seasons of highs and lows in the mountains and valleys, but the beauty of truth remains. God is with us in every single season we walk through. We are called to prosper amidst our suffering…and you know what? We are also meant to help others prosper when we are suffering too. We are called to give him thanks in our suffering. We are called to allow our suffering to be used for His glory. While suffering will exist always in this fallen world, we have access to a mighty God who walks with us in that journey. He has plans unfathomable to us. He has plans that will prosper us.
Sometimes all we want to hear is that God will take away our hardship and that his plan means that we do not have to suffer, but that is not what scripture says. What God is saying through this passage is that He wants us to thrive in it. He walks through it with us and carries us when we are too weak to move. He is gracious like that. We can even experience the deepest joy fathomable amidst our most challenging trials because He is there.
God, I pray that whoever reads this, that you would be with him/her. Thank you that they are persevering, and I pray that you would give them strength today, to lift their hands to you and to surrender any burden that they have to you. Thank you that you are with us amidst our suffering. Thank you that you see the bigger picture when we cannot, and that our story is Your story. Thank you that you have plans not to harm us, but to give us hope and a future. You are a good, good Father.
We are in this together.
Much Love!
Ali Bair
ACF Devo Team
End in Prayer
Hey God!
Thank You that You have a plan for my life. I trust that Your plan is great and that You have my best in mind. Help me to surrender today to Your leading. Help me to seek Your will for my life over my own.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen