The God Of Your StorySýnishorn

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Those words. Oh, the comfort they bring into most situations that are confusing or perplexing. 

However, if you’ve quoted this extremely popular verse to yourself or others and have no idea of the context from which it comes, you may be in for a surprise. Jeremiah 29:11 is indeed an affirmation of God’s good plans for a future and a hope, but the whole story is far more compelling for our lives than we might realize.

Jerusalem had been conquered. The inhabitants were in the process of being deported to a foreign land they had never known. The Judean Hebrews had endured the crushing destruction of the lives they once knew, only to be uprooted and relocated where nothing was familiar. Families had been torn apart, many were lost in battle, and they longed for home and restoration. 

Jeremiah wrote a letter to those who had been exiled, and contained within this letter we find Jeremiah 29:11. Had the letter been more of a note, containing only the two sentences found in this ever popular verse, he would have been fine. But this one verse was not the complete contents of the letter, and the letter’s instructions were quite disruptive:

Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:5-7)

The letter went on to tell the exiles that the prophets who were foretelling a quick resolution were misleading them.

“This is what the Lord says,” Jeremiah continued. “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you…” (Jeremiah 29:10-11).

Even though the exiled Hebrews longed for a speedy resolution to their exile, God told them that it was going to take some time—seventy years, to be specific. Rather than being obstinate and bitter during this time, they were to establish roots. Rather than isolating and resisting, they were to thrive where they were until God brought them back. 

We personalize Jeremiah 29:11 because it assures us that God is in control and that his plan is for us to experience good hope for the future. However, the full context of Jeremiah’s letter isn’t about the immediate accomplishment of an objective or the quick resolution of a difficult season. Rather, the message is that we must thrive where we are while we wait—which is essentially the backdrop of the life we now live in expectation of the fullness of God’s Kingdom on Earth as it is in heaven.

If you feel as if you are living a life in exile and have been reciting Jeremiah 29:11 to keep you going, good. God’s promise of hope and a future are a solid foundation. However, rather than longing for the season to end so that life can begin, perhaps you’re being given permission to thrive where you are while you wait.

God told the exiled Hebrews, “Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:6-7).

Invite the Holy Spirit to begin to reveal what that might mean in your life. God certainly has plans for you. They are indeed plans for good and not disaster. And, yes, they are plans to give you a future and a hope. It may simply look different from what you were expecting. But if you set aside your expectations and put your hope and trust fully in the goodness of God, you can thrive wherever you are, for as long as it takes.