His Word: 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. Jeremiah 29:10
Observation & Obedience: For seventy years, the Israelites had been in captivity because of their sins against God. They had been taken from their homeland and separated from their families. The city of Jerusalem had been destroyed and their lives would never be the same.
Yet God, in his love and faithfulness, promised that they would one day be reunited. He would see that they were rescued and allowed to return to the land he had given to their ancestors; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
God is even specific about what their new lives will be like. He has many plans for them; they just need to stay close to him. They cannot fall back into their old ways of idol worship and ignoring God’s prophets; those he has appointed to speak for him.
Jeremiah 29:11 is a very popular verse used to describe God’s plans for our lives. Not to be taken out of context, we have to be reminded that these were God’s words to the Israelites and they did not come without some sort of commitment on their part.
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.
God knew what he had planned for them; plans that would prosper them physically, financially, spiritually and emotionally. He wanted them to be new people with a new purpose. A purpose that allowed him to have total control of their lives and to be able to bless them, not harm them.
Throughout the years of captivity, there were many times when things seemed hopeless to the people of Israel. They did not know how much time they had to “serve” or if they would ever be released. God’s plans would now provide them with hope for a bright and prosperous future.
The plans God had for the children of Israel are also for us as his sons and daughters. He wants to prosper our lives with hopeful, not hopeless living. He wants us to know his plans are not to harm us, but to work things together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
Maybe you’ve been in some sort of “captivity” and God is telling you it’s time to come back to where you belong. You’ve been separated from him due to sin and you’ve been living a hopeless life. Your future looks bleak. Nothing you are doing is working out the way you planned it.
That’s the problem. We tend to want God to work out our plans for prosperity and pleasure. We tell him what we want our future to look like and who we want in it. We bargain with God to grant our wishes and bless our plans without taking his into consideration.
That’s not how God’s plans work. They are his plans, not ours. Just as the Israelites had to re-commit themselves to loving and obeying God with their entire being; heart, soul and mind, so must we in order to see his glorious plans worked out in our lives.
Come back today. Commit your present and future to God. Allow him to prosper and shower his blessings on you. You don’t want to miss them!
Prayer: “Dear God, your plans for me are far better than anything I could think of. You want to bless my life with so many good things and give me hope for my future. All you ask is that I stay close to you, love and obey you and trust you with my life. I can’t wait to see the rest of what you have planned for me here on earth and for all of eternity with you. Amen.”
Encouragement: Those who leave everything in God’s hand will eventually see God’s hand in everything. Unknown
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