Friday March 12 – Day 24 – IN HOPE: THE BEST LAID PLANS

 In Lenten Devotional

Friday March 12 – Day 24 – IN HOPE: THE BEST LAID PLANS

10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 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 hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 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 29:10-14 (NIV)

I have no idea what it feels to be exiled.

Being displaced from your homeland or having to go on the run in order to survive, the concept of exile is a foreign one to me.  In the book of Jeremiah, he is sharing the Lord’s promise to those of Jerusalem:  in 70 years God will come back for them and fulfill his good promise.

Many of us take Jeremiah 29:11 out of context and most of us would say it is one of our favourite passages.  It reminds us that God DOES care about us, and God WANTS the best for us.  For many of us who grew up thinking God was going to judge us for our actions and that there was very little love shown to us, this is a game-changer.

In some ways the pandemic feels like we have been exiled from our lives prior to March 9, 2020.  The difference is, God hasn’t led us to this moment. What He is actually doing is leading us to the next moment.  I truly believe that the pandemic is not God’s punishment for a sinful world.  What I do believe is that He can use this moment in our history to show His great love for all of us.  When I believe this to be true, these words echo in my head:

“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 hope and a future.”

The best laid plans that we can ever follow are always from the Lord.  He created us, so He knows our innermost design.  He knows “what makes us tick”.

But more than knowing us, God CARES for us.

Constantly.

Without end.

Without hesitation.

How many of us TRULY believe this truth?

It is too easy to dismiss the idea that God wants us to prosper.  For some of us who despise the “prosperity gospel”, we get cynical when we hear that God would like us to prosper.  When I hear that word prosper, I immediately associate financial wealth with it (which, we would all agree, would be amazing).  However, God is not speaking about that specifically.  God uses the term “prosper” as meaning to have a family and develop a clan of sorts.  To be blessed with those who are children, grandchildren and possibly great grandchildren.  This is where the richness of life dwells:  in our family.

The greatest blessing in my life is my family.  Not only do I have the love of my life, but I have two amazing children and my “core family” define who I am and make life worth living.  THIS, to me, is prospering:  living a life of blessing from God through our family.  I am also blessed to have a wonderful extended family through my Dad, my sister and her family, Rose-Frances’ mom and brothers, as well as nieces and nephews and now what I would call “great nieces”.  My heart has truly been heavy by the fact that I cannot spend time with my extended family, who also help define who I am.  This will now be the second Easter I have not spent with them and this exile is worse than being banished into the wasteland.  I miss them with all of my being.

God is speaking to all of us during the pandemic:  all we need to do is to listen to His still small voice and trust Him.

“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 hope and a future.”

God has been gracious and has protected my family during COVID-19, especially my Dad who is in long term care.  It has been difficult to see him decline from a distance, however God is continuing to make sure we are not in harm’s way.  As of writing this devotion, my Dad has had his second vaccination and the long term care home that he lives in have been protected through all of the outbreaks.

God is merciful! How He loves us!

I now know two friends in the city who have contracted the virus and thankfully are both on the mend and recovering.

God is powerful! How He loves us!

Today, I would like to challenge you to make a list of three things that God has provided for you during the pandemic and through Lent.  How has God shown His desire for you to prosper and not harm you?  How has God shown you hope and a positive future?  Maybe you have a burden in your life that you cannot see any way out of and that His hope is not great enough to tackle that burden.

Remember this, God sees things differently.

God is in the business of making miracles happen. How He loves us!

As we continue past verse 11, the Lord promises the following:

“12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”

God is not interested in making a plan for us and then letting us go on our merry way.  He makes our relationship with him invitational, and desires this more than anything.

God promises to pray to Him and He will listen!  How He loves us!

This truth still blows my mind.  Why would God desire a relationship with selfish, sinful, imperfect me?  There are others who would be better suited to this relationship.  If I desire to seek Him out with all of my heart, and all that I am, I will find Him.

If we desire to seek Him out with all of our hearts, and all that we are, we will find Him.

We will be brought back from captivity to our own depravity.

We will be found.

If you are feeling that the pandemic has exiled you from truly living, remember that if your heart truly seeks the Living God, you will find Him and He will bring you back from this captivity.

Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed by your family members and the fact that they do not want to know anything about God?  You wish that they would all come into this deep deep knowledge of the power of God’s love for us, and that they would seek Him.  Remember that if we call out to God, He will listen.

Don’t hold anything back from Him, no matter how much it hurts to open up to Him.

If you wish to return to your Homeland, your First Love…rest in the truth that the God of the Universe wants nothing less than time spent with you.  It doesn’t really matter how long it has been since you have truly connected.  He is not keeping a record of the time that has passed.

He simply wants You to know how much you are loved.

If it feels like you have been in exile with God, know that He has plans for you.  He has plans for you to prosper and not harm you.  God promises a new hope and a new future that you can believe in and trust.

God is amazing! How He loves us!

See you tomorrow, church 🙂

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