By Toni Ford
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11. It says, “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.” (NLT version).
This verse alone could seem like a sweet, “feel good” verse. However, in the preceding verses we see that Jeremiah is writing to a group of people who are exiled from their homeland and being held captive.
Although they are not where they would have expected to be, nor are they at a place where they would have asked God to place them, God has not forgotten them and He still has a plan for their lives. Even in the midst of a difficult situation, God wants to remind them of His promises and His plan for them.
The same reminders God gave His people back then are still true today.
1. God always fulfills His promises to us.
In verse 10 God tells the people, “I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.” God had just told the people they would be in captivity for 70 years and yet in that same breath, He tells them He will not forget the promises He made to them and their ancestors. Not only will He not forget but He will carry through on His promise to do good things and bring them home to their promised land. No matter how bad things might look here on earth, God promises to get us to the Promised Land.
2. His plans are always good and filled with hope.
God is good, perfect, and holy and as a result He can only give good gifts to His children. Nothing but good can come from our Heavenly Father. This is a foundational truth about our heavenly Father. We live in a fallen world, full of sin and evil so bad things will happen but that is due to evil of which there is no evil in God. So, remember, all that He does and who He is is good. Therefore, He is for you and on your side.
3. He is always there for us when we seek Him.
Verse 13 says, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you.” The key is “wholeheartedly.” If you exercise you know that you can either go all out giving 100 percent to your work out or you can do a semi, half-hearted workout. Eventually you will begin to see results from exercising and those results are based on how much effort you put into your workouts. The same is true when it comes to our relationship with the Father. God is looking for us to pursue Him like we pursue nothing else on this earth and when we do, He will show up in amazing ways.
Many of you have heard the song, “Good, Good, Father,” sung by Chris Tomlin. That is who God is – He is a good, good Father and no evil can exist in Him. So, remember He loves you, and has amazing, good plans for you, and He will always keep His promises to you.
If you would like continued prayer, feel free to email me at tonif77@gmail.com. I would love to pray for you!