Day 56: Jeremiah 23:9-Jeremiah 33:22 - 90 Day Challenge

Jeremiah 29:11 Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means 

And Some Notes on Being a Good Fig 

Jeremiah continues to proclaim God's word amid false prophets, and the Lord tells Jeremiah a metaphor. Jeremiah sees some figs, a basket of good ones, and a basket of bad ones, so bad they cannot be eaten. The Lord says similarly, there are good exiles and bad ones, and those who are good or who become good figs will be given a heart to know God, and they will be His people, and He will be their God--because they have returned to Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 24:7). 

Then we get to It. The big prophecy. The Israelites are spending 70 years in exile and captivity to atone for their sins. At this point, everyone thinks Jeremiah is insane. They had been told lies that were pleasing from false prophets for years, and here comes Jeremiah, with all this bad news. Of course they're going to think he's insane! But what comes next is a very defining point of the Israelites--they begin to threaten Jeremiah with death. 

Now, we get to Jeremiah 29. How often do you hear Jeremiah 29:11, particularly when coming across a big life decision. "For I know the plans for you," says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This plan? It's to send the Israelites into exile for seventy years. Those seventy years end with a bright and beautiful future with the Lord, but it takes SEVENTY YEARS to get there!! Moral of the story: God's plan happens on God's time, and it's not for us to apply our understanding. Sometimes God's plan begins with devastation, but it leads to something beautiful in the end. It just takes time. Also, the verse right after Jeremiah 29:11 says that "Then, you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." We need to keep up our line of communication with the Lord. 

This all sounds like a disaster, but Israel will be restored again. I highlighted basically everything in Jeremiah 31-33. It's beautiful. Some of my favorites are the simplest ones. 

Jeremiah 31:34--"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." 

Jeremiah 32:27--"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"

Jeremiah 32:40-41--"I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." 

Jeremiah 33:8--"I will cleans them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me." 

God will. God will forgive. God will save His people. God does have a plan for each of us. But we CAN'T use Jeremiah 29:11 to talk about it, at least, not in the way that we currently use it. 

God does have a plan for us. It is a good plan. But it is not always our plan. It could be a long, windy, unexpected, and bumpy path. But God will always deliver us from it. 

Tomorrow's reading: Jeremiah 33:23-Jeremiah 47:7

Have a blessed Sunday! 

Jill Jafarace

Director of Student Ministries

New Leaf UMC