Join me for my Sunday message, "Plans: Yours, Mine and God's." Most of us have at one time or another glibly quoted Jeremiah 29:11 because of the promise of God's blessing of a hopeful future or end. However, if we explore the context of the rest of the letter Jeremiah was writing to the exiles in Babylon, we discover that BEFORE God would deliver them and give them a hopeful future there would first be a protracted period of captivity.

Simply put, the exiles were told to ignore the prophecies of the false prophets who were predicting a quick return to the homeland and instead "settle down and make a life in the land of captivity for indeed it would be seventy years before a different Royal administration would send them back to the Land of Judah. The people Jermiah was addressing in his epistle would not be alive to see the fulfillment of God's promise of repatriation.

God's plans for us are no different than that He had for His ancient people. His desire is indeed to "bless us and prosper our lives" but the manner in which He does so may seem at first to be the very opposite of His stated intent. But always remember, "His judgments are unsearchable and His ways past finding out" (Romans 11;33). In addition, He says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8).

God's plans for us are not in the past, for the past is done. Neither are they in the present for that is a tale still being told. God's plans are always somewhere in the future. But for the present we must trust Him and continue to obey.