People often ask me what my favorite Bible verse is. While it’s difficult to narrow it down to only one, I can say that among the top five is Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope'” (NKJV).
These were God’s words to a people who were concerned about their future. They were God’s words to individuals who may have felt forsaken, even forgotten, because they had been carried away captive to Babylon.
What I notice about this verse is that God does not say, “I know the thought I once thought about you.” It would be great just to consider the fact that God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and earth, would have a single thought about me, even if it is a fleeting thought. That he thought about me for even a moment would be more than I certainly deserve. But that is not what he said. He said, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you …” (emphasis mine). Not only is there more than one thought, but there are many thoughts, and they are continuous. That is very important.
God is thinking about you right now, not just as a member of the human race, but also as an individual. Psalm 40:5 says, “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered” (NKJV). God’s thoughts toward you are continual and innumerable.
That is great to know, because people can sometimes forget about us. Have you ever had someone forget an important occasion? Maybe your spouse forgot your anniversary or your kids forgot you at Christmas. Or the only card you received on your birthday was a computer-generated one from your insurance company.
Even when people forget you, you need to know that God never forgets you. And while it is true that God is thinking about us, his thoughts are different than our thoughts are. God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8 NKJV).
Sometimes God does not work in the way we want Him to. He may lead you on a path you did not want to walk. Or, he may not lead you on a path you did want to walk. That is where faith comes in. That is when we fall back on the love of God and remember that whatever he does in our lives or fails to do, in our estimation, is based on his love. I need to remember that he has a plan for me. He has a purpose for me. And that plan, that purpose, is good. You may not know what that plan is at the moment, but you can trust him.
In Jeremiah 29:11, God promises “a future and a hope.” From the original language, that word “future” could be translated “an expected end” or “a ground of hope.” In other words, there will be an outcome. There will be completion in your life. God will tie up the loose ends.
I like to draw, and my specialty has always been cartooning. One of the things I like to do just for fun is to draw caricatures of people. But it’s important to realize that a caricature is an exaggeration. It is supposed to be funny. So if a person has a feature that is a little unusual, you exaggerate it. If the nose is slightly large, then it is huge in the cartoon. If the ears stick out a little, then they are massive in the caricature. You are supposed to look at the drawing and chuckle. But some people get offended. They say, “I don’t look like that!” But it is a caricature. There have been times when I am drawing something, and someone will peer over my shoulder and say, “It’s just a circle.” I know that, of course. But I am still working. So I will strike a bargain: If they will leave me alone while I am sketching, then I promise to show them the final product when I’m done.
In the same way, each of us is a work in progress. God is doing a work in your life. And when it is done, He will show you. It is not done yet, so you need to be patient. God sees the end from the beginning.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (NKJV).
We can’t see God’s plan, but he can. And that is important to remember. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
For the Israelites living in Babylon, God was saying, “You are going to be there for a while, but ultimately I will get you out, so just trust me.” For us, it means one day that we will be free from the effects of sin – no longer experiencing the limitations of the human body, no longer having unanswered questions – and we will live forever in the presence of God Almighty.
What it means specifically for us on a day-to-day basis, time will tell. But whatever it is, we can be assured that it is good, because God is in control of it.
