There are those verses throughout Scripture that Christians pull and cling to throughout their lives. One of those is Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope". As Christians this verse resonates deep within our souls and brings a comfort that one can't describe. However we must make sure that as we read Scripture we clearly look at the context and what God was meaning to say. This "future" or "hope" was not promised to you or to me as 21st century Christians but rather to the Jewish nation of Israel. This assured blessings from the Lord to be brought in Israel's future.
I clearly remember taking this verse and applying it to my own life as a promise that was made specifically to me. Yet as I began to study I was shocked to realize that that was not the case. Discouraged for a moment I soon found comfort in this "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8)Although Jeremiah 29:11 was not written specifically to me for my life, the God who made that promise to Israel is the same God today and has made a similar promise to me. In Romans 8:28 He promises that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it! God has an amazing plan for each of us 21st century disciples, plans to magnify Himself and bring glory and honor to His name, plans that include earthly and eternal blessings and plans that will keep us confident in the hope that we posses. The plans He has for us have been made before the foundations of the earth and we can do nothing in our sinful nature or power to change that! God is sovereign and in control of all. How comforting and encouraging is that. What an indescribable God we serve today, tomorrow and forevermore into eternity!!!
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I'll probably tell you this later, but I was thinking about this same thing just the other day. And how that verse is so taken out of context. I'll have to tell you about another verse I think is taken out of context, or at least misused most of the time because people don't really understand what it means...
I know God's word is taken out of context, and yes, taking the lid off Jerimiah 29:11 will show it is clearly a promise to Israel. However, I have been 'given' this verse many, many times, and in truly amazing circumstances too. On several of these occasions I have stood in awe, and the emotion of the moment has been hard for me to contain.
Over the last 10 years I have been travelling a new road with God that I have yet to fully embrace. I could not walk this path without this promise (Jer 29:11) to help me on my journey. It is one thing for man to throw scripture around in a liberal and shallow way. It is entirely different when God takes a verse of His word and plants it in His child's heart and continues to remind him/her of it.
How do we reconcile scripture seemingly taken out of context that is fired into our heart at just the right moment and often in an inexplicable way? It is a question I've had to ask myself concerning this particular verse. My answer is birthed from my experiences over the last 10 years. For me, God can guide, teach, comfort and encourage however he wants with His word.
Soon I will have been on this earth for 50 years, 37 of them as a christian. My personal opinion is that for most of my life I have 'boxed' God in by believing that the bible contains all there is to know about Him. I believe God is much bigger than the bible. I don't believe He will ever go against His word. However, I do believe he can and does operate in ways that we find difficult to accept because it doesn't map snugly on to our belief system. I cannot explain, in the natural, the way this particular verse has 'turned up' in my desperate moments, and I invite anyone to persuade me I'm applying it out of context.
I have no predetermined concepts of the future that God talks about. I may see something in my lifetime, or not. I may be blessed spiritually, or materially, or both, or none at all. All I know is that He has a plan for my life and it's a good one that brings hope for the future.
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