Plans for a future

This morning's reading in Jeremiah.

 "'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

Often, this is where people stop. They spout this verse about how God will take care of us. They share it with graduates, they write it when people are going through tough times and it becomes an anthem for those not knowing what's coming next.

Shoot, I've been guilty of this myself. I've quoted the verse to myself when I struggled. I looked at it for comfort.

Personally, I think there's nothing wrong with looking to Jeremiah 29:11 for comfort. But I think we're doing a disservice to not look at more of the passage.

I admit, Jeremiah is not a book I'm that well-versed in. Google gives us some insight into the time of Jeremiah the prophet and writer of the book. Since I'm not a Biblical scholar, however, I feel it's best to leave the explanations to those who know better, while I do some independent research of my own.

However, reading through the book, it's clear that Israel has a problem. There are multiple chapters speaking of the unfaithfulness of Israel, how the people have turned their backs on God and how God asks them repeatedly to return to Him.

Aren't we like that? We turn our backs on God, seeking everything else to free us. Like Israel, we turn to idols, worship other things and generally give God fits, blaming Him when things don't turn out like we want.

Then, we try to ignore those who point out our sins, as Jeremiah did with Israel. There was even a plot to kill him in chapter 11 and threats of death in chapter 26.

In spite of all of that, Jeremiah stayed true to God and his calling. God stayed true to His love for his people. Repeatedly, God tells them how He loves His people and wants them back.

Isn't that basically what the whole Bible is about? God loves mankind. He wants to live with mankind, but Adam and Eve sinned, causing the fall of mankind. The rest is a story of redemption. God makes every effort to bring us back to Him, ultimately making the final act of sending His son to die for us. For all of us.

But, back to Jeremiah and the oft-quoted Jeremiah 29:11. During my devotional this morning, which, again, pointed me only to Jeremiah 29:11, I backed up and read more. Then I kept reading in verse 12.

"'Then you will call upon me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" ~Jeremiah 29:12-13

The passage goes on to speak about God returning the Israelites from exile, which they had been sent into for their disobedience. That gets into more of the historical aspect, which I plan to research but am honestly not knowledgeable about right now.

Right now, I want to focus on those verses after verse 11, verses 12 and 13.

For starters, I think they need to be read together. At least, they are important to the context of verse 11.

Yes, God wants us to prosper, to have a future. But He wants our obedience. Without first turning to Him, giving Him our whole heart, we can't possibly have the kind of future that God wants for us.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." ~Jeremiah 29:13

That's key. It doesn't say, "kind of, sort of search me out." It says "seek me with all your heart."

All of it.

And that is hard. We have to give Him all of us. Every little bit. We can't hold back, thinking some part of us is just for us or some part of us is just for our spouses or kids. God requires all of us.

He asks us to call out and come to Him, in verse 12.

"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." ~ Jeremiah 29:12

My morning reading buddy.

I don't know about you, but in my head, that conjures an image of total surrender. Of a person on their knees before the Lord, crying out with every fiber of their being.

I've been in that position. But I tend to not stay in that position. I'm often willing to go to my knees and beg for help, but I find myself getting up and walking away when I don't like the total reliance that help demands.

But that's what God wants. He wants us to totally rely on Him.

To fully seek Him with all of our hearts.

And that, my friends, is when God's plans for us to prosper will happen. We will prosper in Him.

It doesn't mean we will be rich and without strife in life. But it means we will have the richness and fullness of God. With total reliance on Him, God can use us to do anything, things beyond our wildest imaginations.

Are you seeking Him fully?