“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future” -Jeremiah 29:11
This letter from Jeremiah was for the Israelites who were exiled to Babylon after the fall of Jerusalem. They were in a tough spot, far from home and uncertain of their future and feeling as though God had abandoned them. But their situation was not hopeless.
Jeremiah was a prophet and reassured them after 70 years that God would restore them, with a promise of “plans for a hope and a future.”
I read it somewhere that “plans” here is “machashabah,” in Hebrew which can mean thoughts, purposes, or intentions. Which means to me that God isn’t just reacting to events, but has an intentional design in mind.
I think the power of purpose in Jeremiah 29:12 lies in the ability to transform how we see our circumstances. It reminds us that our suffering isn’t the end of our story. Maybe it’s that its purpose isn’t something we have created for ourselves, it’s something we can discover in what God has already set in motion.
When I think back on my life, I can see a pattern that has almost woven itself together. It’s something that I discover in what God has already set in motion. Maybe it wasn’t God’s plan for me to live the life I’ve lived but, a plan He has woven it together for good. Besides satan trying to take me out of the picture. Which is incredibly empowering because it has shifted my focus from chaos and despair to trust and anticipation.
A “hope and a future” gives me the energy to keep me going even though there are struggles in life. The purpose isn’t always about the absence of hardship but about what’s being built through it. It’s a call to trust that there’s meaning even when the plan isn’t fully known yet.
From Pity to Praise 