God Still Has Plans for You – Jeremiah 2:11

It was a time not unlike ours, though it was long ago. Circumstances were different, but we can draw so much hope from it.

God’s people had been attacked and devastated by their archenemy, Babylon. Families had lost loved ones, the economy was devastated, farms and businesses ruined. Many had been carried off into captivity, socially distanced by many hundreds of miles with no way to communicate. Fear, uncertainty, and despair were ravaged their hearts. The future looked very bleak.

It was then God sent a message of explanation and hope to His people.

“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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.

Jeremiah 29:11-14

God said He still had plans for them. He wanted to prosper, not harm them. He had plans to give them a home and a future. Really? After all they had been through? Yes, God still cared. In fact, He loved them all along. Even though they had turned away for years, and trouble had come to them. He still had plans for them.

He wanted to restore hope to their hearts, by letting them know He knew exactly what they were going through. It hadn’t caught Him off guard. He had good plans for their future. They could hope again.

You may be wondering, Does God know what I am going through? Does He care? Does He still have a plan for my life? I can tell you He does, friend. No matter what losses you have experienced, or what fears you have now. God knows each of us. We are all precious to Him. He made us, and He died for us.

In the Bible, He often sent angels or messengers to an exact address. He knows where you live and what you are going through.

“The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV

What may be different in this story in Jeremiah 29 is that God was in a direct relationship with Israel at that time. He had taken them into a covenant as a nation. He promised to protect and bless them when they were faithful, but told them He could not when they turned to other Gods or became faithless (see Deuteronomy 27-30).

They had rebelled and turned away. God patiently sent messengers to call them back. For hundreds of years. Finally, he honored their choices and let them go.

God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11 was originally given to Israel in that setting. He had foretold their captivity hundreds of years earlier if they turned away (Deuteronomy 28:49, 50). Jeremiah 29 explains what has happened in those terms, and what God will do if they would turn back to Him.

I am NOT saying that COVID-19 has come because of our sins, though the world certainly seems ripe for judgment sometimes. My blog on Revelation is looking at signs Jesus told about the last days.

What I am saying is that when we go through loss or trouble, we have a compassionate God Who is more than willing and able to help us when we turn to Him. He is willing to enter a relationship with us now. Jesus died to build a bridge between us and God, because they both loved us.

In all His working with us, God has an overarching purpose–to save us and bring us home to His great heart of love where He can help and bless us as He wants to.

I don’t know what you are facing personally. You may have lost a loved one, or your job. Your business may be in danger of folding. Maybe you feel paralyzed by worry and fear about the future. There is plenty to be concerned about.

God invites us to turn to Him, and bring all our needs and anxieties. He invites us to bring everything. He can comfort us with His love and provide for us. If we have not known Him or wandered away, we can admit our need, or our sins, and ask His forgiveness. Because He loved us, Jesus died to forgive and restore us.

If we know and are trusting Him, we can claim His promises for sure. His heart is always open to us. His answer may seem delayed, but don’t give up. Faith grows stronger in trials. His eye is on you.

Take time to read all of Jeremiah 29. You will see a God who cares, who keeps His promises, who loves. Yes, you will see a holy God who cannot always bless us when we turn away from Him, but is waiting for us to return. He has plans to restore and help us when we do.

Here is a wonderful promise:

“Worry is blind, and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our Heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.”

The Desire of Ages, p. 330

I am taking this time to deepen my relationship with God through prayer and reading His word, the Bible. I invite you to set aside time to do this too. Your faith will grow stronger, and you will grow in hope and awareness of His love. Let’s look up and see Him looking at us with hope and love.