God's Promises in Context

Scripture: The truth is this: 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 bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:10-11

Observation: It is the pronouncement of Jeremiah in verse 11 that so many Christians declare as their life verse ... a verse full of hope, declaring that even in hardship the Lord has good plans for us, providing a prosperous future and not evil. However ... the truth is this ... that promise was not for the individuals who heard it.

Jeremiah wrote this letter and sent it to the first wave of exiles, and it says clearly ... make your homes, settle in, live your lives there in captivity, because it will be 70 years before your descendants return to Judah. For the Lord has a plan for the good of the race of people who believe in him and call on his name.

This was the message Daniel learned when he actively did research in his old age and found this exact letter stating the 70 year timeframe. By then, his generation had died in captivity, never to return, forced to adopt new customs, often subjected to kingly orders that contradicted their faith. They did endure and even influenced the empire in the name of the Lord, with several gaining favor in Babylon. The Lord did, in fact, have a plan, and it was good for all mankind. But it did not involve the return from exile for the people who originally heard verse 11. The good plan wasn't what they wanted, but it was good in the context of how they could endure for now, and their grandchildren be delivered in the future.

Application: As Christians, we certainly need context when it comes to God's promises for good in our lives. It is absolutely true that God's plans for us are good! However, they absolutely are NOT our plans for good in our lives.

If I define my "good life", I can probably guarantee that is not what I will end up with. However, if I define almost no plan for my life other than to obey the Lord, I can guarantee that my life will be good. "Good" isn't prosperous, it is contentment and joyful and hope-filled. It is delivery from evil things. These are the qualities to seek in God's love, not some personally conceived idea of our "good life".

The first-wave exiles in Babylon had been powerful, popular, and rich in Judah. They would never, ever have that again. However, they would marry, have families, live in peace, and believe in a future hope for their nation. That was God's plan ... not for evil, but for a good and hopeful future.

Prayer: Lord, I do not pray for my good life. Instead, I pray today for your hopeful future in my life. May I find my way to set aside my ideas of what life should be, and instead live deeply into your vision and your plan for myself, my wife, and my family. Amen.