Move Forward in Hope

Jeremiah 29:4-11 ~

This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it has prosperity, you will prosper.”

For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, for they are prophesying falsely to you in My name. I have not sent them.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

For this is what the Lord says: “When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place. For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place I deported you from.”

I often see verse 11 of this passage about God having a plan for our future used to encourage others. It's a great verse but it's always taken out of context which drives me a bit crazy! When we do that we either misinterpret the verse or we lose the rich and deeper meaning there. God does have plans for our future. He does have a hope for us. But when we pull the verse out of context we lose the greater meaning of the passage.

God is speaking here to the national of Israel. He drove them out of the land and into exile because of their sin. And it's while they are in exile here that He speaks to them through the prophet, Jeremiah.

It would be so easy for the Israelites to whine and complain (they were good at that) about the land they had lost. They would continually want to long for the past.They may have been looking back with regret thinking, "Why couldn't we just listen to the Lord?" They may have been beating themselves up because of the consequences of their actions.

God tells them to live their lives. Get married and have children. Plant your gardens and go about your daily lives. Don't waste your life looking back with remorse. In fact, He even tells them to do good in the land they find themselves. Keep in mind they are in Babylon which was a sworn enemy of Israel. The Lord is telling them to do good to their enemies. Make this place I have sent you even better than when you arrived.

He reminds them at He has not forgotten them but that at the end of this 70 year exile He will restore them. He has plans for them and hasn't forgotten them. He wants them to stop worrying about what might have been and look forward to the good future He has for them.

This passage struck me this morning because often I can look back at my life and either long for the good old days or regret choices I've made. God has forgiven me for my bad choices and I also know He has orchestrated my present situations so why would I want to waste one single moment longing for something I can't change? 

He wants His children to live their life to the fullest in the situation you find yourself. He wants you to stay present and stop regretting the past. He wants you to trust Him right now because He has a plan for your life and it's a good plan. He doesn't want you to spend so much time looking backward that you aren't any good in the present "land" or circumstances you find yourself in.

Stop looking backwards with regret or with longing. Move forward daily in the knowledge that God is in your present. Be confident in the knowledge that God has a plan for your future.