Jer 29 11It is written in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Enter numerous preachers and consequently multiple (well meaning) Christian friends. They will all tell you God is getting you ready for a blessing. That your future days will be prosperous with health, wealth, and restoration. You just need to have faith. Some will even kick in Romans 8:28 about God causing all things to be for your good.

After listening to them the believer begins to wait… look for… and expect blessings from God to be just around the corner. Which for them means next week, or month, and certainly within a year. Then when their experiences don’t match the expectations told them by either well meaning friends or unscrupulous preachers, they lose hope.

Now if they had just read verse 10 and not dropped in on verse eleven, they might have been a little more careful before they spoke possibly vain or misleading words. Jer 29:10…

For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Hmm. First came a calamitous deportation from their homes to a foreign land where most would die. It would be 70 YEARS before verse 11 came into play. More than two generations would not experience Jer 29:11. God gave them a promise to bank on… through many hard and difficult days.

When Christians tell others “God has a purpose,” they’re right… GOD’S GLORY. When it’s proclaimed “Things will get better,” they’re right… but it may take 70 years… or more… or when eternity begins. Does that decrease hope? Only for those who don’t have their mind set on heaven (Col 3:2, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”)

Where is your mind set… when and as life happens?