Daily Devotional For Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Good day Southside! The Bible says this in Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (NLT). All of us make plans and we look forward to doing those plans. The downsize is when our plans do not go the way we desire. Several years ago on September 9, 2019, I had just finished cycling 15 miles or so and had put my bicycle back on my bike rack and was on my way to pick up Emmie from Hoggard High School. That was my plan. Well, I got about ½ mile when without warning I went blind in both eyes while driving and plowed into 2 parked cars. I had suffered a stroke and ended up in ICU for several days with a medicine given to me called TPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator) that was working to dissolve the clot so that I would get my vision back. Praise the Lord it did.
But my point is – I had made plans but the Lord was determining other steps I was to take. There are some Bible verses that are often taken out of context by people to either substantiate their plans or wishes. One of these is found in Jeremiah 29:11:
“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (NASB).
When we come to Jeremiah 29:11, the context is the people of God were living in suffering and slavery in exile in Babylon by their conquerors. They were surviving a thousand miles away in ghetto type living. They watched as hundreds at a time were murdered by the Babylonians. The book of Jeremiah and especially Jeremiah 29 is a chapter where the main question is: “Why is God allowing this to happen to us?” Ever been there? Mine was in September 2019. While Jeremiah was living in Jerusalem, he was having to deal with and answer to the remaining Jews there. One point of Jeremiah 29 is that God knows what He is doing and when His plans do not go along with ours, His plans are the best.
Years ago singer Paul Simon had a song titled, “Slip Slidin’ Away.” One of the lyrics in this song goes this way: “Well God only knows, and God makes His plan, and the information’s unavailable to the mortal man” (Slip Slidin' Away). The truth is some of God’s plans are made known to us. In Jeremiah 29:11, in Hebrew, the pronoun “I” is emphatic. Whatever plans God has for us, He knows even when we might not or not like.
Jeremiah’s point from God is that not only does God know His plans, He carries them out. The Jews were being punished by God after years of refusing to repent through the messages from God’s prophets. They told the people repeatedly that God was going to punish them and they were carried off as slaves to live in exile. They did not believe God would do this since they were “God’s chosen people.”
Sadly, many Christians take this verse and apply it selfishly. They limit it just to themselves. The pronoun is plural and refers to all of God’s people. God spoke through Jeremiah and Ezra that He would bring His people back out of captivity and slavery. Not one – but all of them. Old Testament scholar Philip Graham Ryken writes this:
“When God says he knows the plans He has for you, it is important to understand whom He means by “you.” Christians often apply Jeremiah’s promise to themselves individually. “Terrific!” they say. “God knows the plans He has for me.” This shows how self-centered Bible reading can be. Jeremiah’s promise should not be taken individualistically. It is not a private promise. It is for the entire church. The “you” in “I know the plans I have for you” refers to the whole people of God. Before thinking about what the promise means for you, think about what it means for us. In Jeremiah’s case, the promise of return was for the whole community of exiles. In the case of the church, the promise of salvation in Christ is for the whole community of believers” (Source: Phillip Graham Ryken, Preach The Word, “Jeremiah & Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope,” p. 420.
When it comes to the church, this promise in Jeremiah 29:11 is about the salvation of the nation. Therefore, this means that the promise of salvation is for the whole community of believers. This is the Apostle Paul’s point in Ephesians 1:4-5, 7, 11:
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love (5) He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will . . . (7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace . . . (11) also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (NASB).
This means that if God knows the plans He has for the church, He also knows the plans He has for each individual Christian. Therefore, Jeremiah 29:11, when quoted, should be quoted in reference to the whole body of Christ, not for one single person. Therefore, as Christians we can turn to this verse as individuals and families as long as we see in the bigger context for the whole Christian community. As we make our plans, we have to remind ourselves that our lives are not ours alone because we have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20).
This means that God may allow suffering in our lives or allow something to happen to us for something greater that we cannot see. In this case, we need to trust God’s plans even when they do not make sense to us. God’s plans for Israel included punishment, exile, death and eventually restoration. But this would not come for years.
The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom in 722 BC and then Babylon conquered Assyria, and both the northern and southern kingdoms starting in 606 BC. God allowed 3 attacks on Israel by the Babylonians in 606 BC, 598 BC, and 586 BC. In this last conquest, Babylon destroyed the Temple and the wall around Jerusalem. Then in 539 BC, Persia conquered Babylon, securing everything Babylon had conquered. In 537 BC, Persia allowed the descendants of the exiles to return home to rebuild the Temple under Ezra and the wall under Nehemiah. So, 70 years later Jeremiah 29:11 became a reality.
Meaning, according to Jeremiah 29:11, God’s plans and promise to Israel were for the future, not the present. Instead of choosing to live in pessimism, bitterness and anger, God called His people to live in faith, since they were responsible for their plight, not God. Yes, God did cause the punishment, but only after years of trying to woo His people to Himself. This means as Christians, since we are saved, it is not a license for us to go live however we want, thinking that we are forgiven by God. Christ was punished for our sin, and we will be punished here by God for a rebellious and sinful life (Romans 6). God will not be mocked by our sin nor our rebellion (Galatians 6:7).
Therefore, when we quote Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise, we must do so in the context for the whole Christian community, not something for just us individually. I wish to quote again from Old Testament scholar Phillip Graham Ryken:
“If God’s plans are for the future, the Christian must not complain about the present. One of the dangers of grumbling about what God is doing is that, whatever it is, God probably is not finished doing it. By its very nature, a plan is something that will not be completed until sometime in the future. And once it is completed, it will not be a plan anymore; it will be history. If God has plans for hope and a future, you must give him enough time to work them out. This is why the Christian always lives by faith. A Christian is someone who trusts the promises of God for the future and acts upon them in the present. In other words, the Christian acts on God’s promises before they are fulfilled. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). To draw comfort from God’s plans for the future, one must take them by faith. The refugees in Babylon had to live by faith. During the seventy long years of their captivity, they had to trust the promises of God” (SourceL Philiip Graham Ryken, Preach The Word, “Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope,” p. 422-423).
Reflection Assignment: When your plans do not match God’s plans, do you choose to live by faith? When God allows suffering in your life, do you choose God or do you choose to be angry with God? When you make plans, do you first ask God if these are the plans He desires for you or do you just make them, leaving God out of it?
Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (NIV).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, help me to accept from You everything both good and bad that happens. I do not want to be so self-centered that I quote Jeremiah 29:11 just for myself. I want to live by faith, no sight. I want to live by faith, not just the good. As Jesus prayed, “Not My will, but Your will be done” (Luke 22:42), this is my prayer. I accept whatever Your hand gives and allows. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly