‘For I have Greater Plans…’

07 Jul ‘For I have Greater Plans…’

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future full of hold.” ~Jeremiah 29:11

Many times I have seen variations of this verse on greeting cards for graduation, marriage, new jobs, etc. as it is very comforting in times of transition and doubt. Yet it is almost always quoted without context. Now passages don’t always need to be read in context, but it is helpful to first understand the context and then apply it outside of that context.

The context of Jeremiah 29:11 is very unique. The verse is in the midst of a prophetic letter, which Jeremiah sent from Israel to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. It is a first person prophecy wherein Jeremiah speaks on behalf of the LORD. The LORD is telling the exiles to build houses and have children and pray. They are to be faithful to Him in exile and then He promises to bring them back to Israel. The verse comes in the midst of His promise to bring them back to the Holy Land, where they will seek and find Him and pray to Him and call upon Him. He will gather them back into the land.

When I read the verse within its context, the application was a little bit different. It is not about future plans for something completely new, but future plans for the restoration of something lost. It is about bringing the people back to the Land. God promises His faithfulness to His people who seek Him “with all their hearts” (29:13). It is about God restoring His relationship with His people and them coming back to Him in faithful love. It not only calls for trust, but for prayer, love and worship. God not only promises to love His people and be faithful to them, but He asks them to be faithful to Him, to love Him, to draw near to Him. God does have plans for us – plans to restore and heal and prosper our relationships with Him, to bring us back from a land of sin and evil to a land of His bountiful goodness, His blessing, His life. Jeremiah 29:11 is not just about assuaging our anxieties about the future, but about the growth and restoration of our own relationships with God.

Adapted from http://catholicbiblestudent.com/2007/05/context-for-jeremiah-2911-for-i-know.html

Wow! In that year prior to our anniversary on June 2, 2016, when I knew we would be moving, I became very negative and wondered why God would do this to me. While we were in DeWitt, I had been building my reputation, giving of my skills and talents, and building the foundation for my dream of being an entrepreneur.

Back in college, I had done an internship at the Graphic Edge in Carroll. My mom was originally from Breda and thus I was able to live with my Grandma that summer. I LOVED the Carroll area. I felt like I was home. The people I met, I felt like I had known them for years.

So when I first met John a year or so later, and found out he was from the Carroll area, I knew it was fate. We were meant to be together and after graduation we would move back to western Iowa, back to a place I felt at home. However, God had different plans for our lives. Upon graduation from vet school, we moved to Eastern Iowa. At first I struggled with moving. It wasn’t until God slapped me in the face with some very strong messages that I was finally able to see the plans He had for me. I had gotten distracted in life, and needed to refocus my sights on Him. In my new role, I would be able to refocus my life on living not for this earthly life, but on serving God’s will.