I Will Give You a Future and a Hope
Open Your Bible
Jeremiah 29:1-29, Psalm 33:11, Ephesians 1:4-5, Colossians 1:27, 2 Peter 1:3-11
BY She Reads Truth
Too good to be true. The promise of Jeremiah 29:11 can feel just too good to be true. Often spoken over another person as an encouragement to combat a disappointment or setback, the words can ring hollow when understood in their original context. That’s because God wasn’t talking about career success, dating relationships, or winning the JV soccer game. And He wasn’t addressing anyone and everyone. He was talking specifically to the people of Judah in exile. The “plans” God had involved restoring them as a nation and bringing them back from Babylon into the promised land. So unless you happen to be a sixth-century-BC Jew stuck in Mesopotamia for the duration, keep on moving—there’s nothing to see here.
In one sense, this is true. It won’t do to simply pick up a promise meant for someone else and take hold of it for ourselves or someone we love. But God has grafted all believers into His family tree of God (Ephesians 1:4–5; see also Romans 11:17). So the “future” God promised to His people in the Old Testament is now ours in Christ if we know Him, and the “hope” is bigger and better than anything we can imagine, because it is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), of eternal life in the presence of the King (2Peter 1:4; Revelation 21:3), and of all things being made new (Revelation 21:5).
When faced with life’s challenges, the promise we have in Jeremiah is not that everything will work out the way we want, but instead that Christ will bring good from even the darkest moments this world can dish out. And in that, there is something lasting to hold onto.
105 thoughts on "I Will Give You a Future and a Hope"
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In the middle of an unannounced emergency I found myself on an examination/surgical table going through a heart catheterization.
Still in my 50s the heart specialist commented afterwards how he heard me recite and pray Psalm 23. No fear. Trust. The following day I had a 5 bypass. Coming home with oxygen and a walker, I listened to praise music, lifting scared arms fingers extended. “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever…”
Ten years later He has given purpose, because He lives.
Hope. A future. Thank you Jesus. -
This was a great debunking moment! This verse was meant for the context it was spoken in and the people it was spoken to. but it remains through Christ for us today. It’s only through Christ we can receive what God promises to his people.
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I needed this so badly today. I’m feeling so down and purposeless right now – I needed the reminder of my hope in Jesus, that my hope is not in this world but in the world to come.
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Yes! I thought it was silly for me to pray to trust more in God, but doing so has really helped me overall with my lack of purpose in this chapter of life. Learning to let go of achievements of this world and focusing on my relationship with Christ and fellowship.
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I have always questioned the meaning of Jeremiah 29:11. Thank you so much for this thoughtful and biblical explanation.
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❤️
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To keep the faith in my hard times brings hope that the end result leads me to Heaven and everything coming out for the best.
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God’s faithfulness is so sure, isn’t it? Even in the midst of the hard, He is blessing us by enabling us to keep the faith and growing His character in us. I see Him doing that for Sonja. ❤️
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Wow!! I kind of liked how honest this was. Our promise is in Christ, not that everything will work out and that even in the darkest times God can still use that. It changed my perspective on how I view that passage for sure.
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In the depths of darkness Christ is there not to keep the darkness away but go through the darkness with us. A comforting promise when we feel despair. He is our Hope!
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This was so informative about the qualities of faith that God has given me to walk out being effective and fruitful. God revealed to me that this was the year to be fruitful but practicing these qualities. There is no way I can fall when his promise is faithful and everlasting.
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