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
We do not fully understand God has plans that agree with his overall nature of love. God’s command to love one another is a law that governs how to deal with one another in ways you would want them to treat you. God has planned eternal life for his creation within his paradise. Within the verse above God has revealed that he has plans to prosper his children giving them a hope and a future in the ages to come. For the most part this promise is seen from our position not from God’s. If we saw this promise from God’s eyes he is hoping that you would have the love to make plans to prosper him so he would have a hope and a future in the ages to come.
God says I know the plans I have for you but mankind cannot even begin to fathom the depth of the abundant wisdom within God’s plan. Nor are we capable of knowing everything God wants to achieve in the next age. Plans give its designer hope and a future that encourages us to enjoy the fulfillment of our achievements.
Conceivably plans give us the foresight of what we must do to accomplish them and the hindsight of seeing that what we did to achieve its success. Plans also allow us to consider from hindsight if the accomplishment was worth the time and effort.
In the context of this passage God is revealing what he has planned when the seventy years of exile came to an end. In reality God is planning to fulfill his gracious promise to bring his people back to the New Jerusalem spoken of in Revelations. Today Jesus is in the New Jerusalem so on his return there is a place prepared for you.
Everyone who can fathom the depth and nature of heaven wants to partake in its wonders not just for the moment but for the rest of their lives. However for those who have ignored and rejected his plan God has determined that they will never enter his rest. Only when spiritual warfare has ended by a peace agreement with Jesus Christ can we enter God’s rest. It’s during peace time that we are the most productive as a society.
When Daniel sought the meaning of what the seventy year dream revealed through Jeremiah the Angel Gabriel explained what would take place in fulfilling God’s plan to establish his kingdom and bring his children back to the New Jerusalem. In that plan the Messiah or Jesus who was to come he would make atonement and established a new covenant of forgiveness through his death.
The bible tells us that Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28). According to God’s plan we are between the sacrifice the resurrection of God’s lamb and his return when he brings Salvation to those who are waiting for him.
The seventy years for Babylon spoke of the exile of God’s people into the hands of the enemy. Like Babylon the world system is filled with trials and persecutions that corrupt our beliefs in our creator. While the world tests our faith in God – God is refining our faith into precious gold as we wait upon the Lord’s return.
This promise was revealed at a time when Jeremiah was sent to proclaim the coming wrath of God on Israel. However the leaders of Israel were listening to those who were proclaiming peace. These prophets had neither heard from God or had dreams concerning the matter from God. God told Jeremiah that he had not spoken to them or sent them.
The outcome for the false prophets was paid with their lives. Jeremiah was taken captive during the siege and was found in chains among the captives being exiled to Babylon (Jeremiah 40:1). Jeremiah was freed and given the opportunity to settle down where ever he pleased. God still chose to use Jeremiah and sent a letter to the exiles to reestablish themselves in Babylon as they would be there for a long time.
"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; Jeremiah 29:5-6
The wrath of God Jeremiah spoke of is now history but its passing serves as an example of the wrath of God that is pending today. Like the exiles Christians are away from their home land and are living as strangers in a land that is indulging in the sinful nature. God is sending prophets today to warn mankind to reform their actions because God is planning a disaster for those rebelling against his authority.
Give careful thought to what you do in your body for we live a world where God’s truth is suppressed by evil deeds. The news of the day is filled with words twisted to soothe and covers over the rough edges of evil deeds. Sin is not a hiccup of society for it regularly occurs throughout the world all because man is not mindful of what God has planned.
The news of God’s coming is listened to those who are waiting for Christ to deliver his people from the sin of the world. However, the world has its eyes and ears fixed on the world and its pleasures. They are not interested in the plans God has to repay those who denied, neglected or rejected God because of their arrogance and pride. On that day they will be humbled without any hope for the future or God’s mercy.
God has plans for those who agreed to his plan of salvation and are working to know God and achieve his purpose for creating them. God has a future in store for those who are willing to submit to God’s authority a place called heaven. His plan demands that we do no harm to others rather serve them with the love of God.
The world has its eyes and ears set on the pleasures of the world and the future will just have to wait on them. God cannot change the defiance of mankind who refuse to see God’s side or his purpose for creating mankind. Anything designed by a man that fails to work for his benefit is usually discarded and burned with the trash. By the same token ignoring God has the same outcome.
The problem is in perceiving the plan of God, for when his plan becomes known it changes you and how you see your future with God. God doesn’t have plans to harm you instead he has your best interest in mind and an awesome future planned for those who want it.
It’s not too late for there is a day when God will make a clear distinction between those who serve him and those who do not (Malachi 3 17). God’s plan for his future involves you but God wants you to choose life of your free will and agree to work with him towards that end. His plan will be imitated when you choose to understand and agree to plan of Salvation. 4/22/2014
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