“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 upon 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.” (Jeremiah 29:11–14, NIV 1984).
My Musings – We have to be careful about applying texts to situations outside of their original context. The above text, for example, was specific to the Judean exiles in Babylon. The “then” He spoke of was “when seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My gracious promise to bring you back to this place.” (Jeremiah 29:10, NIV 1984). As a nation, Judah had not sought Him “with all [their] heart,” despite repeated warnings, which temporarily derailed “the plans [He had] for [them].”
So, how might we carefully apply this text to us as individual followers of Christ. Does He have “plans for [us]?” Yes, if we are among “the full number of the Gentiles [to] come in.” (Romans 11:25, NIV 1984). Plans that were a “mystery” to the Jews during the time of Jeremiah, that we remained largely “ignorant” of until after the resurrection.
Can we temporarily derail those plans through disobedience? Yes. “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.” (Revelation 3:19, NIV 1984). Of course, like Judah and Israel before it, it would be so much better not to “go off the rails” in the first place. “Does the Lord delight in [confession] and [repentance] as much as in obeying the [Word] of the Lord? To obey…and to heed is better than [either].” (1 Samuel 15:22, NIV 1984).
How do we get “back on track?” “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8–9, NIV 1984). But we must do so “with all [our] heart.” Not with “mouths [that] express devotion, but [having] hearts [that] are greedy for [plans to prosper].” (Ezekiel 33:31, NIV 1984). And let’s not misapply those “plans.” For the “hope and a future” for individual believers has more to do with eternity, our final destination than it does for the here and now.
My Advice – “This train is bound for glory.” Side trips can impede a pilgrim’s progress. Stay the course. He’s waiting for you at the end of the line.
