There is a tendency in modern Christianity to cherry-pick verses and plaster them on shirts, mugs, and memes without examining the context. One favorite is Jeremiah 29:11:
“For 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.”
Yes, that’s an encouraging word of God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge, but it wasn’t given to individual looking at his or her immediate future. The context is Israel’s captivity in Babylon. The first part of the chapter says,
“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives… multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile… For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you My promise” (see vv. 4-10).
This was no promise of “just hold on a little while and you’ll get out of trouble.” This was a directive to wait a lifetime and the next generation would see national deliverance. It’s not unlike the forty years in the wilderness before Israel could enter the Promised Land following the exodus from Egypt.
We go astray when we read Scripture solely through the eyes of our Western individualized culture. Much of the Bible was written to the nation of Israel, not to individuals. That’s not to say that individual application is always wrong. There can be a lot of overlap. But it is clearly wrong to interpret verses like Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise of individual success and prosperity. Many Christians have leaned toward facets of a prosperity gospel without even realizing it. For example, youth may be led to believe that if they hold to certain Christian standards they will be guaranteed a better job, better marriage, and better life—almost equating Christianity with the American dream.
What then can we glean from Jeremiah 29? God is sovereign and omniscient, and His perspective is always long term. He is working out His divine plan over many generations in many thousands of years. He will fulfill His purposes for individuals, nations, and all of history, but that purpose does not necessarily include comfort and success for each person in their lifetime. We have to hold onto God’s perspective—the eternal reality—when we face suffering and difficulties. Our future and our hope are grounded in the truth that this life is not all there is. We can then endure as long as necessary because this life is just a drop in the bucket compared to eternal joy in His kingdom.
“You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).
© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
