"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 a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
We Christians like this verse; like A LOT. We have it written all over the place. We hang this verse up in our home and tattoo it to our bodies. Jeremiah 29:11 is everyone's life verse. I mean, who doesn't want to rest in knowing the God has a plan for our life; especially when that plan includes safety and prosperity. Even if I didn't believe in God, I would hold onto this verse. What if, however, we have been misinterpreting this verse all these years?
This life, the here and the now, we like it. Well, some of us probably want to throw this life in the trash like a rough draft and have a do-over. But, for the most part, we hold onto this life for dear life. It is all we know. It can be scary to think of anything else. Because of this, we go all in even when the cards we are dealt are bad.
This life isn't our Promised Land.
Let's go back a ways and talk for a moment about the Israelites. The Israelites are a Jewish people. They believe in and follow God. We read the Old Testament and see that the Israelites had a tumultuous relationship with God (Kind of like us, right?). One minute they were fully devoted to God and the next they were worshiping a golden calf. They struggled. They were enslaved and exiled. They wandered a desert for forty years. But, God continuously restored his people. Time and again, God, in his great mercy, redeemed the Israelites. In the book of Jeremiah, the Israelites are exiled from their home in Jerusalem. They looked to their life on earth and forced it to become their "promised land" instead of following the ways of the Lord into the true Promised Land. They sought after false prophets of their time to justify their lives and deem everything fine. They denounced any teachers who tried to convince them they aren't living in accordance with God's plans.
The Israelites took matters into their own hands and attempted to make their life on this side of Heaven their promised land. What they didn't realize, is that their Promised Land could only be found in God.
As much as we think the Israelites and the Old Testament is boring history, we find ourselves in their story more often than not. We are the Israelites. We are wandering our own desert looking for the promised land not realizing it is right in front of us.
The Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. Scholars have determined that the journey should have taken eleven days. Eleven. Instead, it took them 40. Wow. How often do we wander searching for a land of peace and prosperity not ever finding it?
Our Promise Land is not this life. Our Promise Land is eternity.
Let's return to Jeremiah 29:11. God tells his people that he has a purpose for them; that he has a future and a hope that includes prosperity. The Israelites thought that meant right that minute in that life. I believe God meant a life in him and a life to come. Because their life didn't fit the mold of Jeremiah 29:11, they forced it. They went out of their way to find people to justify their actions and way of life. They were not living in accordance with God and knew it. Yet, they found a way to justify their life anyway. Because of this, they moved further and further away from their Promise Land.
We do the same. We are constantly searching and forcing this life to be our promise land when it was never meant to play that role. This life is a stepping stone to the Promise Land.
"Then you will call upon 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
Do you feel like you are in exile from your life? Are you wandering the desert with no reprieve in sight? It took the Israelites years to figure out their wanderings and that the life they were living was not their promised land. All God wanted them to do was seek him. He declares that in Jeremiah that when we seek him, we find him. He promises to bring us out of the captivity of our current situation and into the place he has promised us.
Exile is always followed by restoration. Where do you need to be restored today. Deliverance does not depend on your own accomplishments or good deeds but on his mercy and kindness.
The Promised Land is waiting for you. It is time you stop wandering the desert and seek God. He wants to be found by you.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
We Christians like this verse; like A LOT. We have it written all over the place. We hang this verse up in our home and tattoo it to our bodies. Jeremiah 29:11 is everyone's life verse. I mean, who doesn't want to rest in knowing the God has a plan for our life; especially when that plan includes safety and prosperity. Even if I didn't believe in God, I would hold onto this verse. What if, however, we have been misinterpreting this verse all these years?
This life, the here and the now, we like it. Well, some of us probably want to throw this life in the trash like a rough draft and have a do-over. But, for the most part, we hold onto this life for dear life. It is all we know. It can be scary to think of anything else. Because of this, we go all in even when the cards we are dealt are bad.
This life isn't our Promised Land.
Let's go back a ways and talk for a moment about the Israelites. The Israelites are a Jewish people. They believe in and follow God. We read the Old Testament and see that the Israelites had a tumultuous relationship with God (Kind of like us, right?). One minute they were fully devoted to God and the next they were worshiping a golden calf. They struggled. They were enslaved and exiled. They wandered a desert for forty years. But, God continuously restored his people. Time and again, God, in his great mercy, redeemed the Israelites. In the book of Jeremiah, the Israelites are exiled from their home in Jerusalem. They looked to their life on earth and forced it to become their "promised land" instead of following the ways of the Lord into the true Promised Land. They sought after false prophets of their time to justify their lives and deem everything fine. They denounced any teachers who tried to convince them they aren't living in accordance with God's plans.
The Israelites took matters into their own hands and attempted to make their life on this side of Heaven their promised land. What they didn't realize, is that their Promised Land could only be found in God.
As much as we think the Israelites and the Old Testament is boring history, we find ourselves in their story more often than not. We are the Israelites. We are wandering our own desert looking for the promised land not realizing it is right in front of us.
The Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. Scholars have determined that the journey should have taken eleven days. Eleven. Instead, it took them 40. Wow. How often do we wander searching for a land of peace and prosperity not ever finding it?
Our Promise Land is not this life. Our Promise Land is eternity.
Let's return to Jeremiah 29:11. God tells his people that he has a purpose for them; that he has a future and a hope that includes prosperity. The Israelites thought that meant right that minute in that life. I believe God meant a life in him and a life to come. Because their life didn't fit the mold of Jeremiah 29:11, they forced it. They went out of their way to find people to justify their actions and way of life. They were not living in accordance with God and knew it. Yet, they found a way to justify their life anyway. Because of this, they moved further and further away from their Promise Land.
We do the same. We are constantly searching and forcing this life to be our promise land when it was never meant to play that role. This life is a stepping stone to the Promise Land.
"Then you will call upon 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
Do you feel like you are in exile from your life? Are you wandering the desert with no reprieve in sight? It took the Israelites years to figure out their wanderings and that the life they were living was not their promised land. All God wanted them to do was seek him. He declares that in Jeremiah that when we seek him, we find him. He promises to bring us out of the captivity of our current situation and into the place he has promised us.
Exile is always followed by restoration. Where do you need to be restored today. Deliverance does not depend on your own accomplishments or good deeds but on his mercy and kindness.
The Promised Land is waiting for you. It is time you stop wandering the desert and seek God. He wants to be found by you.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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