Jeremiah 29: 10-14 God's promise

Jeremiah 29:10-14

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.^[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Daniel’s Thoughts:

God makes a promise to his people who are exiled. What would it feel like to be exiled from their homeland? They are God’s people and have the priests and prophets. Yet in being exiled I can imagine their doubt and fear. I have the same fears and doubts sometimes.

Is God real? Does he care for me? Has he forsaken us? How can God be good and in control and allow this.

I remember what God has done in the past, but somehow in the moment the fear and uncertainty overcome what I know to be true.

Yet God promises to never leave or forsake us. He promises to work all for out good.

To Israel he makes this promise for their future. When his people seek him and turn back to him in exile they will find him and he will gather his people and bring them back from captivity.

Let us hold on to a similar promise. For in the new covenant, I believe that we ourselves keep us from God more than anything else. We choose to turn from God.

Sometimes even when we don’t seem to turn from God life does not go as planned. Sometimes it feels like we are in exile. Life just does not go as planned. We suffer and so do those we love. Yet somehow in all of that God is present. God is somehow working even our suffering for our good. I don’t understand. You may say this is what happened to me, how can that be God’s plan. How can that be good? My answer is I don’t know, but God does. I can tell you the story of a man at the Men’s retreat at my church who lost his wife. Then after moping for two years he was able to remarry. But that same year he remarried he got into a financial scam and lost all of his hard earned savings and support for his retirement and new wife. Then his new wife suffered from severe health issues. I don’t see any hope in this or anything redeeming. Yet now years later he is able to look back and see how God used all of this to bring this man closer to our Lord. He is able to see that God used this for good. He now relies much more on God. All of this taught him that he is not in control. in some ways he is actually thankful for what happened to him. And I am happy to say that his wife is doing much better and through hard work this family has recovered financially.

Daniel’s Prayer:

Lord

God you and your ways are a mystery.

Our God has plans for us.

To prosper us and give us a future.

In the hard times God will bring us back to him.

He will never leave or forsake us.

When we turn and seek him with all our hearts

We will find him

He will fulfill his promises.

Thanks be to God!

Amen