Episode 186 – Out of Context Pt 2: For I Know the Plans
Key Passage(s): Jeremiah 29:10-14
Jeremiah 29:11 is a crowd favorite! “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to proper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Who wouldn’t want these plans? Prosperity, comfort (no harm), a hopeful future – sign us up! And then the bottom falls out, and our faith gets upended because we held God to a promise He never made. Jeremiah 29:11 is not about prosperity and protection. It’s about perseverance in the midst of hardship. Stripped of its context, this passage is catastrophic to our faith journey. But understood properly, it gives us the hope and perspective we need to navigate life’s challenges well.
Discussion Questions
- What was your biggest takeaway from the teaching?
- Consider this quote: “The crisis of faith occurs in the gap between expectation and reality.” Describe an experience in your life when your expectations and reality didn’t align, and you felt disappointed or frustrated with God.
- The exiles were torn between the competing messages of the true prophets (we’re going to be here awhile) and the message of the false prophets (it’s going to be over soon). How do you think God’s people are still torn between those competing messages in our day?
- What is your reaction to the following: “People who run from pain tend to prolong it, while those who persevere in pain often find the purpose to pull through it.”
- When we’re in the thick of hard times, it can be difficult to have perspective. Eventually, we’re able to look back and see that God was up to something bigger. We just couldn’t see it at the time. What have been one or two of those moments in your life?
- How will you begin living out the truths of this teaching this week?
For Further Study
- The Most Misused Verses in the Bible by Eric J. Bargerhuff
- Book of Jeremiah by BibleProject
- The Restoration of All Things by Brad Gray
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This is troubling to me. Your presentation sounds to me like you’re saying “hey, this passage was given a long time ago so it’s not really relevant for you today …. “ isn’t Gods word alive and living and breathing and relevant yesterday, today and tomorrow ?
Kellie,
Thanks for sharing your concern. That is definitely not the message we’re attempting to convey here. This is a truly inspiring and comforting passage, and it’s as fresh and relevant today as it ever was. Set in its original context, this passage reflects a showdown between two ways of relating to God. There is the view that God’s plans are ultimately about protection and prosperity. So, if we are experiencing pain or hardship, we can mistakenly arrive at the conclusion that God isn’t being faithful to His word. As pastors, we’ve walked with countless people over the years; people in difficult seasons of life trying to make sense of how it’s possible that they are “holding onto this promise,” but confused as to why God isn’t delivering them from the pain. It’s not that God isn’t being faithful. It’s that we’ve misunderstood this passage.
Jeremiah is instead reflecting the view that God’s good plans for our lives can (and often do) include pain and hardship. Experiencing pain and hardship shouldn’t lead us to the conclusion that God isn’t being faithful to His word. Rather, they should lead us deeper into trusting God and persevering in the midst of trials because we believe there’s a bigger story unfolding and that God’s faithfulness and Presence in our lives isn’t negated by our hardships and sufferings.
You can see this same struggle at work in the New Testament around the ministry of Jesus. After his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus encountered two disciples on the road to Emmaus. It seems Jesus’s death had completely crushed their hope. But as they walked along the road, Jesus explained to them how suffering was part of the story God had been telling all along. One scholar puts is like this: The cross wasn’t the story of God rescuing them from suffering but rather the story of God rescuing them through suffering.
I must confess that I used this text “Out of Context” for many years. Let me explain. In September of 2008 I lost my first wife of 30+ years unexpectedly. During my grief period someone reminded me of this text. I held on to the verse not expecting any financial prosperity of any other type of relief.
I simply held on to the promise that God was in control of every aspect of my life. I didn’t blame God for my loss but i admit I asked several times “WHY”. My wife had been ill for my years and 3 years prior God gave her a second chance by bringing her through an extreme medical emergency. We realized that time was short, and we decided to live life as God intended us to “Keeping our Eyes on the Promise ‘Heaven””.
Let me close by saying that 11 Years ago GOD brought into my life a new life Partner and I still believe in the promise the God is in control and he holds me in his arms. My Savior Jesus confirmed that by his sacrifice for my sins.
I pray that those who still are waiting for prosperity from this verse see the true meaning.
Thank you for your ministry and love for Truth.
In His Service,
Ruben
Ruben,
Wow. It’s always sad to hear the stories of heartache people endure, but we’re inspired (and we know others will be too) at the way you’ve stewarded your suffering to trust in God’s goodness. Thank you for sharing your story and your wisdom.