For I Know The Plans I Have For You

Jeremiah 29:10-14 New Living Translation

10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 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. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”

There is always hope with Almighty God. These words were originally spoken by the prophet Jeremiah as he prophesied that because of Judah’s disobedience and rebellion that God would send them into captivity. God would use the nation of Babylon as His instrument of correction. For seventy years Israel would be in captivity, but there would come a day when God would bring them back into the land. Not because they deserved it or earned it, but because of the grace and mercy of Almighty God.

God has given us His word that is filled with His promises. His promises it that He has not only created Israel with a plan and purpose and that because of this they have a hope and future, but He has also created us with a plan and purpose. Everything we go through in our lives as we trust Jesus Christ is designed by Almighty God. It doesn’t mean that everything is easy, but everything has a purpose.

The plans God has for us are for a hope and a future. They are not for disaster but are for our good. There are times when it can feel like all hope is lost. It can feel like our lives are headed for disaster either based on terrible decisions we have made, or what others have done to us. But through it all God calls us to trust Him. He has shown time and time again that He is always faithful. He tells us that His thoughts and ways are much different than our own, and therefore we cannot lead on our own understanding.

God promises when we pray that He will listen. Sometimes we may feel like our prayers go no higher than the ceiling. But this is simply a lie of the enemy. God has told us that when we pray according to His will, that it is done (1 John 4:15). But this is the key praying according to the Father’s will. We must seek the Living God and be patience for Him to reveal His will and His purpose. This can be difficult in the times and culture we live in today that is a microwave culture. But there is even a purpose in the waiting. God is molding and shaping and often the longer we have to wait, the more we are transformed and changed by the Lord.

God calls us to seek Him with our whole heart and we will indeed find Him. There is never a time when we seek after God that we will not find Him. It doesn’t mean He will answer every question or request we have in prayer. But it does mean that we will find Him. When our desire becomes to spend time and enjoy His presence, prayer and seeking Him will take on a whole new dimension.

Ultimately God will be found by us and He will ultimately bring healing and restoration in our lives. We may not always understand all that God is doing, but we can know in our hearts that He has a plan. He is continually molding and shaping us for every purpose He has designed us for. When we come to Christ our lives no longer belong to us, they belong to Him. Nothing we go through is wasted and all of it has a purpose in His kingdom.

Prayer

Father thank you for shaping and molding my life according to your plans and purposes. May my life be used to glorify the name of Jesus. May you give me eyes to see and ears to hear. Father help me to walk in your purposes and your plans and help me to trust you even in the moments when I don’t feel you or understand what you are doing. In the name of Jesus, Amen!

Reflection Questions:

1. Are there moments in which you feel God has abandoned you?

2. In this current season of your life what is it that God is trying to teach you?

3. In what ways has God demonstrated His faithfulness in the past?