We praise you for the reality that right now we are being heard by you. And I just want to encourage you to pray with me. Seek me.” In a way we’ve seen in the Old Testament, in the Psalms, Psalm 27, “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’ Your face. And as followers of Jesus, what do we do? Think His words in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. There’s only one way to know God, to come to God, to be heard by God, to seek after and find God, and that is through Jesus, through trusting in Jesus, through following Jesus. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” So we see this clear promise and that context in the book of Jeremiah, and then we think about the new testament and one, how Jesus makes this possible, how Jesus makes it possible for us to have a future and a hope through paying the price for our sins. This plan is for you to follow Christ, seeking first the kingdom of God. I want you to have a future and a hope with me, calling upon me, praying to me, being heard by me. I desire your good, and I have plans for your welfare, not for evil. This is a promise clearly from God to His people in Jeremiah 29:11–13 that says, “I’m going to bring you back to me, for those who turn from sin and trust in me, I will restore you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Harmon is the author of Jeremiah: A 12-Week Study.“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Once we understand the nature of God’s plans for us as believers and the nature of the good he promises to do us, we can confidently apply the heart of this promise to our lives today. Understood within the larger context of the Bible, God still speaks to us today through a promise he made to the Jewish people while in exile. 8:28), even the suffering he ordains for us (Rom. God promises that he will work all things for the eternal good of his people (Rom. Jesus invites us to ask God in prayer and it will be given to us, to seek him and we will find him (Matt, 7:7). 1:1 2:11), waiting for the new creation in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. In the meantime, we live as exiles and sojourners here on this earth (1 Pet. So does that mean it does not apply to us as believers today? Understanding the larger context of the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation helps us see that the answer is yes, it does! As believers, God’s plan for us is to bring us into the new heavens and new earth that he has promised (Rev. Therefore, in its original context, Jeremiah 29:11 is God’s promise to Jews living in exile in Babylon. God still speaks to us today through a promise he made to the Jewish people while in exile. God will restore them from their exile to the land that he has promised them. God will answer the prayers of his people. What is the nature of that plan and that good? Verses Jer. God promises to fulfill his plans of doing good for his people. And only then will God fulfill his promise and bring them back to the land (Jer. Rather than being brief, their exile will last seventy years. They should ignore the so-called prophets who are claiming the exile will be brief because God has not spoken to them or sent them (Jer. Jeremiah instructs them to get busy in establishing their new lives in Babylon by doing ordinary things like build houses, plant gardens, marry, and bear children indeed, they are even to seek the welfare of Babylon while they are there (Jer. Some of the exiles had already been living in Babylon for nearly eight years, while others had just recently arrived. Jeremiah 29 records a letter that the prophet wrote to the exiles living in Babylon (Jer. ![]() The book of Jeremiah is a collection of his prophetic oracles that God spoke to and through him throughout his ministry. Jeremiah was a prophet who served during the final days before Judah was taken into exile by the Babylonians, and his ministry continued throughout much of the time that the Jews remained in exile. ![]() The starting point for determining the meaning of any verse from the Bible is understanding the surrounding context. But is that really what this well-known verse means? This verse is commonly found on bumper stickers, signs, cards, etc., placed there to encourage people to have hope for the future that God will work things out for them. If you were to take a poll on the most well-known verse in Jeremiah, there is a good chance that Jeremiah 29:11 would rank near the top, if not at the very top. ![]() This article is part of the What Does It Mean? series.įor 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.-Jeremiah 29:11 Understanding the Context
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