A Future and a Hope

We are home. Barb is doing great. She is walking everywhere again. Doctor Taner said she is doing better than expected. Her numbers are near perfect and she remains ahead of schedule. Doc called hers, "a miraculous recovery." She is still tired and full recovery is slower than she would like, but overall she is so much better. Her color is normal again and she looks great. No more constant sickness. She has been given a new lease on life! God is so good! As my title suggests, Barb certainly has a future and a hope! PTL!

Jeremiah 29:11-14a is usually associated with and primarily preached at graduations time. However, this passage has to do with much more than just graduation. It has to do with life in general and it applies equally to each one of us. In Christ, we all have a future and a hope that is certain. In Christ, we all have our identity. In Christ, we all live, and breathe, and move. In Christ, we all find our purpose.

Jeremiah knew that life would not always go so well, so he told us to look up. Always trust God and rejoice in all things because He has special plans in mind just for you. “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 29:11a). To discover those plans, we must follow three truths that Jeremiah lays out for us in verses 11-14a.

First, we must recognize that it is in God that we have a future and a hope. Verse 11 says, “Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” God has your back! Yes He does. Believe it or not, the Lord God has your best interest in mind. He has planned for your welfare. He has planned for you to succeed. He wants “to give you a future and a hope.” Your future lies in Him. So do not leave God out of the picture. To do so opens you up to certain calamity. But God does not want that for you. He looks forward to your success and He looks forward to helping you make a difference in this world.

Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). And in verse 19 he adds, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Now if God is the one who gives us strength, and if He supplies all our needs in Christ Jesus, then we can certainly accomplish great things through Him. Again, that means always looking up; always “fixing our eyes on Jesus.” (Heb. 12:2)

Live by faith in Christ, keeping your eyes fixed on Him, and you will do well. You will find all that God has for you. And remember, nothing is beyond hope when you trust in Christ and nowhere is beyond reach for God. Rely on Him and you will have a secure future.

Next, we must call upon God. The Lord continues in Jeremiah 29:12, “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” How do you find the plans God has for you and how do you gain that future? By calling upon God. “Come and pray to Me,” says the Lord. And what? “And I will listen to you.” What a promise! Just ask, and He will listen and obviously, He will give you that future and hope—everything He has in store for you.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” God wants you to lean on Him. To trust in yourself brings failure. Success in all you do requires trust in the Lord. So trust Him “with all your heart.” “In all your ways,” every day, in everything you do, “acknowledge Him.” Then, in trust, call upon Him, pray, and He will hear from heaven and He will answer your prayers, giving you all He has in store for you. He has promised and His promises are true. He will deliver.

Finally, seek God and you will find Him. Again, the Lord God continues in verses 13-14a, “‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord.” If you desire the plans God has for you, and I pray you do, you will seek after God. You must! There is no other way to find God’s perfect plans, those special plans He has just for you. If you want your life to make a difference in this world, then seek after God. And if you do, God says you will find Him!

But you must seek after Him “with all your heart” (v. 13b). The “heart” is the center of your emotions. You must want God with your whole being. With all you are, seek God. If you do, again, as God promised, you will find Him. “‘I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord” (v. 14a).

Seek after the Lord and you will find Him, along with the future and the hope He has for you. Trust God and make a difference. Amen.