Have you ever felt like you were walking in a fog with no idea where you were or which direction you were facing?  How about having that sense of fear of not knowing what lay ahead for you in life?  Uncertainty in life can be pretty paralyzing.  Not knowing what happens next is terrifying.

 

 

Judah disobeyed God.  God warned her for over a century that judgment was coming unless Judah obeyed God.  Judah did not listen.  As a result the period of national history called the Exile occurred.  Judah was plucked from the Promised Land and dragged to the land of Babylon.  Jeremiah 29 describes the comfort that God gave to those from Judah in this time.  God basically told them to make themselves at home.  The Exile was going to run its course, whether the people wanted it or not.  However, in the middle of all the turmoil and agony of losing their beloved land, God gave them (and us) a wonderful comfort.

 

“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”  Jer 29:11

 

If I can, let me show you a few things from this passage.

 

First, our God is a forgiving God.  God broke the teeth of those in Judah.  He yanked them from the land they loved so much and placed them in a heathen place among the Gentiles – because they had sinned against Him.  Yet, here we find in the middle of discipline God comforting His people with words that only God could issue.  You can hear the declaration that they have been forgiven.  Now, they had to wait out the sentence.  God forgives us of our sin when we come to Him.  Sometimes He makes us wait out a sentence.  Sometimes He restores us immediately.  God is a big God.  He can do what He wants.

 

Second, our God is a caring God.  God had a plan for Judah.  His plan was to bring them to the place where they recognized that God was their God – their only God.  He was bringing them to the place where they would once again recognize the power and majesty of YHWH God.  The Almighty God could inflict pain, and He could cause comfort.  No matter what, it all fit into His plan.  God cares a lot about us.  He has a plan and a purpose for my life; and a plan and a purpose for your life.  There is nothing that comes into our life that surprises God.  On top of that, He uses all things to advance His plan for you and for me.

 

Third, our God is a finishing God.  God not only had a plan for the discipline of Judah, He also had a plan for the restoration of Judah.  God did not punish Judah and leave her out there to wonder what was next.  From the beginning God planned the end.  He had in mind Judah’s future.  God knows what He is doing you us.  Right now things may seem foggy and uncertain, but trust me, God knows what He is doing.  His plan and purpose for us is to give us that future and hope.  Understand that when we talk about Biblical hope, it is not this wishy possibility of life.  It is a certain expectation that God is going to accomplish something good in your life.

 

I have not idea where anyone who reads this is at in their life.  I know where I am.  I also know that my God is a big, big God who loves me more than I can imagine.  I am comforted knowing that God cares so much for me that He knows the beginning of sorrows and the ending in joy.

 

Trust God through it all.  He is the only One who knows what He is doing.