Jeremiah 29:11
God did not create us without a purpose or destination. We are not beings of chance or accident. God knew us before we were born and he had a plan for our journey on earth. God knows us even more than we know ourselves (Psalm 139:1). Just like prophet Jeremiah, God has known each of us before we were born and ordained us for a specific assignment (Jeremiah 1:10).
If you think you were born by accident, think again! God loves you specially and he knows you by name. He has a glorious plan for your life and he will bring it to pass. All we need to do is to trust in him.
When we go through challenges in life, we are tempted to think that God has forgotten us and that all hopes are lost. Jeremiah 29:11 is a disclaimer from God himself saying “I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU!”
God has us in mind always and he has perfectly planned our lives to fit into the big picture of his will. When you think that God has left you on your own, remember the promise of scripture in Jeremiah 29:11. God has a plan for you and he is more interested in your success than you are. God always delights in the prosperity of his people. (Psalm 35:27)
What Plans Does God Have For Us?
We can understand God’s plans for us through his word. Jeremiah 29:11 is a classic example of the template of God’s plans for us. The devil tries often to make people believe that God does not care about them. Here is God telling us that he cares about even the littlest details about our lives. The hairs of our head may be uncountable to us, but they’re well numbered by God (Matthew 10:30). What are these plans God has for us?
Plans Of Peace
God is a God of peace (Romans 15:33). He wants us to have peace in our body, soul and spirit. Peace in Biblical terms is not an absence of a storm but the presence of God in the middle of the storm. Peace comes from God alone. He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). The world can be such a noisy place but God wants us to have peace amid that noise.
Apart from giving us peace in the middle of the storm, God can still our storms too. In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus spoke peace to the storm that was raging in the middle of the sea. He did this after his disciples called his attention to the storm out of their fear. Sometimes, our fears overwhelm us and we don’t know what to do. All we need to do in those situations is to call upon God to still our storms for us. God still calms storms. His plans for us are plans of peace. Whether by being with us in the middle of storms or by calming the storms for us, he will give us peace by all means (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
Plans Of Prosperity
Not only does God want to give us peace, but he also wants us to prosper in all our endeavours (3 John 1:2). God carefully planned out our lives before we were born and he destined us to prosper. God does not take pleasure in the failure of any man. Before Jesus called Peter as a disciple, he intervened in his business by giving him a miracle that prospered his business (Luke 5: 1-11). Whenever God sees fruitless efforts, he ends them instantly. He is a God of rewards and harvest.
You may think that the seemingly little areas of your life may not interest God. However, God is interested in the littlest details about us, even to the hairs on our heads. God is extremely meticulous when it comes to human beings, he is so mindful of us (Psalm 8:4)
God wants the prosperity of every area of your life; your finances, business, career, family, academics, business and so on. He does not want you to fail in some and prosper in others. He wants you to prosper in all you do (Psalm 1:3). Knowing that it’s God’s will for us to prosper, we can take any area of our life that seems to be failing to him and he will come to the rescue, just like he did for Peter’s business.
A Glorious Destination
God is the beginning and the ending, he is the first and the last, he is the author and finisher too. Not only does he start things, but he also finishes them. Whatever God starts, he perfects them (Philippians 1:6). God did not only plan the beginning of our lives; he planned a glorious future and destination for us. Even when it doesn’t seem like it, God is saying to you from his word that he will finish what he started.
He started your life; he planned your coming to the world and he knows the great destination he will take you to. Stop trying to finish what you did not start. Stop trying to plan what God has already planned. He knows the way he has ordained for you to go and he will lead you there if you trust him. You must allow him to take the lead and bring you to your promised land.
Just like the children of Israel, God brought them out from Egypt and already planned a glorious destination for them. They had so many challenges on the way to that land, but in the end, God fulfilled his word. All through scripture, we find God promising men glorious destinations and bringing them there. He only needs you to walk with him step-by-step till he leads you to where he has for you. He cannot lead you if you don’t cooperate with him.
God wants to lead you to the glorious destination he has planned for you. Do you trust him enough to lead you?
King James Version (KJV)
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
New International Version (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
New American Bible (NASB)
“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
The Living Bible (TLB)
“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.”
