Jeremiah 29:11, 1 Peter 5, 2 Peter 3
As a pastor I have, on many, many occasions led people who are struggling in various ways to this well-known verse from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. This is from Jeremiah 29:11…
“For I know the plans I have for you”, says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Read that one sentence and you can’t help but feel some degree of comfort, right? It’s a great promise, it’s sounds like an awesome plan – nothing but smooth sailing ahead! God is promising you nothing but good times, a great future and lots of hope! Go God!
Well, this verse reveals a true “good news, bad news” scenario for us modern day followers of Jesus. I’ll give you the bad news first. Ready?
In these verses, the LORD isn’t talking to you and me. He’s talking to His chosen people, the Israelites who, when this promise if being made, are living in exile in Babylon because of their refusal to live in obedience to the LORD. If you know anything about you Old Testament, you know that the people of Israel are stiff-necked, rebellious, constantly complaining and easily given to idol worship. For years the LORD warns them that there will be a price to pay for their ongoing sin and for years they by and large have chosen to ignore the warnings.
In fact, Jeremiah is known as the “Weeping Prophet” because he more than any other begs Israel to listen to God and for the most part he is both laughed at and abused. Well, they would come to regret that as King Nebuchadnezzar’s armies sweep into Judah, lay siege to Jerusalem, destroy the temple, kill a lot of people, and take those who survive prisoner. But during those 70 years in exile, the LORD doesn’t desert His people. He lets them know right here in verse 11 of chapter 29 that His intent is to lead them back to their homes and what He refers to as their “good fortune.”
So, this promise given through Jeremiah is “earth bound” if you will. It’s great news, the people are going to get to go home and apparently be given yet another chance to fix their relationship with the LORD and thrive as a nation.
For you and me, here’s the good news. The plans God has for us for good and not for disaster are so much bigger and better than what’s being presented to Israel. There are big differences between the LORD’s Old Testament promises and what we’re given under the New Covenant of Jesus. The promise extended to us is best illustrated by the Apostle Peter in his 1 New Testament letter. This is from 1 Peter 5:10…
“In His kindness God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.”
With Jesus as our Savior, God’s Plan becomes exponentially bigger and better. Life in this world will be hard but if we place our faith and trust in Jesus, we will know eternal glory. In other words, we get to go to Heaven. And it’s in Heaven that we get to experience a future and hope void of sickness and sorrow and tears and mourning.
When we face adversity today, when we face a tragic loss, an addiction relapse, catastrophic health news or any other trial that will come our way it’s great for us to lean into the idea of God’s plan and His sovereignty. But let’s think about always going a little deeper than Jeremiah 29:11. Because through Jesus the promise is bigger, the plan is better and as Jesus is glorified in His sovereignty, we will be blessed with eternal joy, living in His presence. When we choose to incorporate Jesus into God’s Plan for our lives, it makes life in this fallen world so much easier and it blesses us with the expectation of Heaven and the far, far better days we’ll come to know in God’s perfect timing!