Of course, some of the verses that jumped out at me from our OT reading are these very well known ones....
"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
You will seek me and fine me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
I don't even want to comment so much on the content of the verses themselves (though they are fantastic), but rather the context of these verses.
We often hear these verses, especially the first verse, at baby dedications or on baby announcements or some other inspirational moment. And, don't get me wrong, they work well in those situations too.
But these verses were not written in the context of a "everyone lives happily ever after" scenario. Far from it.
These verses were spoken during captivity. During exile. This was a bad scenario indeed.
The point is that not only do our circumstances not change God, they don't change His promises and they should not change our trust in Him. He knows what's happening, and He knows the future. If we let Him, God will see us through any suffering or hardship we may endure.
These verses are easy to believe in times of prosperity, but because of that, possibly also less meaningful.
On the other hand, during times of hardship, clinging to verses such as these is what makes it possible to get through suffering - with hope.
If we truly believe God is good all the time, then He is good no matter our circumstances. Though His plan for our lives will not guarantee that we will be spared pain or suffering, it will be a good plan because He designed it, and He will be glorified through it.
Tomorrow's passage: Jeremiah 50, Hebrews 6
1 comment:
I think what struck me about Jeremiah's letter in today's reading is that it could be written for Christians of any era. We are displaced citizens of another Kingdom, longing to find our way back to the Promised Land. Yet we're to settle in here, make the best of our stay, submit ourselves to our governments, and be encouraged that God will collect us and reunite us all again someday. Our residence here is not permanent. I think this offers us all a glorious hope!
But there is also a word of caution that I'm not sure we're quite as concerned about all the time, and that is the "increase in number and do not decrease" command. God's talking here about physical children and, of course, we could still take it to mean that, but I think spiritual children could be included. The Church, at least here in North America, is not "increasing" anymore.
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