Jeremiah 29: 10–14
Does God have a plan for us?
It’s a question some of us may have been asking over the last months.
We are in a very different place from this time last year – not exiled,
but our way of life has changed.
The Israelites exiled in Babylon weren’t to do nothing and wait for
things to get back to ‘normal’, because that wasn’t going to happen
any time soon, not for three generations! They were encouraged to
embrace their situation, to make a life for themselves, to pray for the
city they viewed as enemy. That must have been shocking to hear –
reminding us perhaps of Jesus’ teaching on ‘love your enemies’. They
were to seek God with all of their heart and have hope for the future.
How could they do so in a strange land without the temple?
The Israelites’ time in exile won’t last forever. God will keep his
promise and they will return home. Jeremiah’s words encourage us,
too, to keep on going, even when life doesn’t go as we anticipate. As
with the Israelites, God is with us, holding us and comforting us, His
saving grace still at work. His plans for us are for good and that gives
hope for the future.
So, does God have a plan for us? The answer is YES.
Joy Rulton
Faithful God, help me to seek you with my whole heart. Help me to trust
in your promises. Thank you that nothing can separate me from you, no
matter how challenging life may be. In you alone is my hope. Amen.
