Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse often found on cards or plaques, or quoted for quick inspiration: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” These words do bring encouragement. They show God’s love and tenderness for his people. However, we miss something even bigger when we pull them out of context. You see, these words are part of a letter written to Israelites who had been taken as prisoners to Babylon. Among them were some self-appointed prophets who were trying to keep things positive and lift everyone’s spirits, so they were proclaiming that God would quickly restore the people and their king to their homeland. They even said that the treasures taken by Babylon would be restored. It was exactly what the exiles hoped for. But it wasn’t the truth.
Jeremiah’s message was much harder to accept. He told them that God was the one who had ordained the exile, and that it was going to last until His plans were fulfilled. God told Jeremiah to write a letter to the Israelites in Babylon, giving them instructions for living in exile and warning them not to be deceived by the feel-good prophets. After this warning, right before the encouraging passage we are so familiar with, we find Jeremiah 29:10: “For this says the Lord: when seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.” This is a pretty negative message. It does promise that God will restore his people to their homeland, but not for seventy years (a lifetime!). The Israelites surely would have felt that any hopes for the future that they desired were completely gone. Yet, this is what immediately proceeds God’s reference to having good plans, plans for a hope and a future! So how could that make any sense at all?
The answer is in Jeremiah 29:12-13, the verses that immediately follow our refrigerator magnet verse: “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart.” God was telling his people that there was a greater restoration than the one they wanted. He Himself was their true future and their true hope. His plan to prosper and bless them was all wrapped up in their relationship with Him!
When we are struggling with difficult things, do we find it difficult to accept the situations that God allows in our lives? Do we sometimes look for encouragement in what we want to hear? Do we want to pull Jeremiah 29:11 out of context without reading on? Do we want the plans that God is fulfilling to be our own plans?
It is God who gave us a hope and a future through Jesus Christ. When we wholeheartedly turn to him, He will be our hope and our future no matter what circumstances we are in. And that’s really good news!