For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
Jeremiah 29:11 is probably one of the most quoted and beloved verses in Jeremiah. It has given numerous people hope in the midst of trials because it reveals the heart of God. God loves us and has a good plan for our lives.
Of course, reading through Jeremiah, it is interesting to observe the context of this verse. It is written specifically to the Israelites in captivity in Babylon. Instead of resisting their captors, Jeremiah encourages them to settle down, plant gardens, get married, and pray for the peace of Babylon. Why? Because God had already determined that Israel would be in captivity for 70 years to Babylon. God had good plans for the nation…but they were going to happen on His timetable not theirs. God’s thoughts of peace, hope, and a future were for the nation of Israel…70 years down the road!
A couple of thoughts hit me from this.
1) We want God’s promise of peace, hope, and a good future a lot sooner than 70 years down the road! Actually 70 hours seems like too long for most of us…myself included. I find it interesting that one of the most common commands in the OT is “wait on the LORD.” We don’t hear that command as much any more. For us, answers are found in action not in waiting. But when we jump ahead of God’s plan we usually make a mess of things. Waiting does not mean inaction; it means surrendering our agenda to God’s. It means saying to God, “I want this now (or I want this to end now), but I am going to submit to Your plan. I will trust You and take one day at a time. In the meantime allow me to sense the moving of Your Spirit so I can learn what I need to learn, minister to who I need to minister to, and experience your joy and peace in the process.”
2) Jeremiah 29 also reminds me of an old saying, “Bloom where you are planted.” The Jews in Babylon had two choices: keep complaining/resisting/fighting life in Babylon or find contentment/rest/joy in the midst of Babylon. They may not have liked being there but they were there. Now they had to deal with it, accept it, and make the most of it. Sometimes I miss so much opportunity and joy in the present because I spend all my time focusing on what my “ideal world” should be. I focus on what is wrong with my situation rather than seeing what is right with it. Life in my “Babylons” is never ideal but it is also never removed from God’s hand of blessing. But I will not experience that blessing unless I open my hands and say, “God, not my will but Yours be done.”
I remember Linda’s testimony yesterday in church when she told of her husband getting cancer. She had to surrender her husband, herself, her family, and her plans to God. But then she said this, “Of course, if I didn’t surrender, God was going to do what He was going to do anyway. My surrender didn’t change God’s plan for us but it did give me the peace I needed in the midst of that plan.” I think that is exactly what Jeremiah is saying in chapter 29. We don’t surrender to change God’s plans; we surrender in order to glorify Him and find joy, peace, and blessing in the midst of that plan.