Jeremiah 29:1-14 is one of those passages of scripture that contains a few verses that everyone seems to quote, including me. The verses I am referring to are 11,12 and 13:
11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an unexpected end.
12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” KJ
I’ve heard many use this scripture passage as one that teaches us that God has a “Purpose” and a “Plan” for our lives. I do understand why the thinking behind the statement. The NIV translation says (pertaining to vs. 11), “to give you a future and a hope”. The word end (vs.11 – KJ translation) in Hebrew is “Achariyth and translates as latter, end, reward; A latter end, last end, remnant, uttermost parts“. I do believe that God’s ultimate thought for us is that we reach that “reward”, that “prize” which Paul speaks of in Philippians 3:14. The reason I want us to read verses 1-14 is this: I believe it is very important for us to get the whole picture when studying the scriptures. In this case, we understand that Jeremiah was writing to the Hebrews who were sent into exile for 70 years. These people needed hope and comfort. They needed to hear the truth while they were waiting. Jeremiah gives them hope for the future via ”saith the Lord“. How cool is that! 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “all scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching...” for you and me. Jeremiah’s letter not only offers hope to the Hebrew captives, but to us too. God knows our future. When we tire of waiting for the desires of our hearts or wonder what His Plan is for our lives, remember, He promises us His presence, and encouragement through the Word.
Verses 12 and 13 say to us, “call upon me, pray to me, when you seek me you will find me, when you search for me with all your heart.” My prayer for you and I is that as we begin to search for “Purpose” in our life, we will search for Him with all of our HEARTS.
Read Psalm 40…Meditating on God’s thoughts for you (vs. 5,17)
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 3:44 am and is filed under Bible Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
