The Plans I Have for You

“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.” —Jeremiah 29:11

Main Point: The promise in Jeremiah 29:11 is that God won’t forget about the Israelites during the Babylonian Exile and leave them there forever, not that He will make you rich and give you your dream job.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” —Jeremiah 29:4-7

God says: “You’re going to be in this place that you don’t want to be for a while, so settle in, make yourself at

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.”

Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. —Jeremiah 29:8-9

God says: “There are false prophets among you who are trying to make the situation sound better than it is—don’t believe them; they don’t

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for Me.”

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” —Jeremiah 29:10

God says: “You are going to be stuck in this awful situation for 70 years before

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comes.”

“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.” —Jeremiah 29:11

God says: “You might think that I am

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you, but I am still for you despite how this season will feel.”

“Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” —Jeremiah 29:12-14

God says: “Even though your circumstances will be

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, I will still hear you, I will not hide from you, and eventually, things will get better.”

When we are in a difficult chapter of life, even though we don’t have a guarantee of the outcome, we do have a

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that God is in control.

Takeaway: Even in the most difficult seasons of our life, God is still in control.

Discussion Questions:
1.What was the historical context of Jeremiah 29:11? Why is it important to understand this before applying it to our lives?
2.How does knowing that God’s promise was originally for the Israelites during their exile change the way we view this verse today?
3.In Jeremiah 29:4-7, God instructs the Israelites to settle in and seek the prosperity of their captors. How does this challenge the way we approach difficult or unwanted seasons in our lives?
4.How can we remain faithful when the resolution of our struggles seems far away or uncertain?
Table Discussion Question - What does it mean to trust that God is “for us” even when life feels like He is against us?