“For
I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of
peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you
will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all
your heart.” -Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV) [Read Jeremiah 29]
Jeremiah
29 is a letter from the prophet sent to misplaced Jewish exiles in
Babylon. Many thought Judah would soon be restored, since they were
God’s called people. But Jeremiah saw God’s restoration
differently. In Jeremiah 29:10 he told the people that after 70
years, God would restore them to the land of Judah. Here is a study
outline of Jeremiah 29, a chapter which is said to be the major theme
of the whole book of Jeremiah:
1.
A statement of the condition (Jer. 29:1-3)
2.
Learn to make the best of whatever situation you are in (vv.
4-6)
3.
Pray, pray, pray in whatever situation you find yourself (v. 7)
4.
Don’t listen to the wrong advice (vv. 8-9)
5.
Take the long view of the situation (v. 10)
6.
Hope in God’s plans (v. 11) [Key text, and memory verse from
this passage]
7.
Above all, constantly seek the Lord and His ways (vv. 13-14)
A
more modern rendition of Jeremiah 29:11 is from Eugene Peterson’s
The Message Bible: “I know what I’m doing. I have it all
planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to
give you the future you hope for.” In this verse, God speaks
authoritatively about His plans, with the firm assurance that His
plans also include what the believers hope for in the future. Who
doesn’t want the “best” for themselves and others? God Himself
wants what is best for us! We must acknowledge that our “best”
plans “oft’ go agley” as Scottish Poet Robert Burns so aptly
stated (we would translate: “often go contrary of what we plan.”)
But if we are sincere believers who “know that all things work
together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28, NKJV), then we can trust
God to help us through any situation. Problems will be there; His
power is greater than any problems we face! Selah!
Briefly
stated (for it is a long story,) I give testimony to Jeremiah
29:11-13, and how it has helped me tremendously since 2002 Then I
made the decision to move Grover and me to Milledgeville from the
beautiful mountains of North Georgia that had been my home most of my
life. There were some years away at college and a few years of
“first ministry” for Grover; and then the Lord moved us to
Hiawassee, and then to Epworth [in the mountains] where his ministry
and my teaching—the bulk of these—occurred in the mountains. Now
the story as to why we moved to Middle Georgia. In June, 2002 I
decided to purchase the house next door to my daughter Cynthia’s
house, and move us here (the move occurred later, February 17, 2003
when the house was ready). Grover was well into having the dread
disease of Alzheimer’s. I needed family help, and received it, as
well as help and support from many Christian friends I met here, and
our church which ministered to both of us in such loving ways. I
kept him at home with help for four more years after we moved to
Milledgeville. Then in 2007, he became a patient at Georgia War
Veterans’ Home here, another God-send along the long route of
providing for an Alzheimer’s patient. He died January 26, 2011. I
was ministered to and loved by these good people (as well as many
others from long-distance, friends in the mountains and elsewhere).
“I know the plans I have for you,” the Lord promised. And it has
proven so true for me. “Every morning, mercies new.” God has
proven in so many ways the truth of Jeremiah 29: in our “exile”
here. Will I move back to the mountains? God hasn’t finished with
me here yet! -Ethelene Dyer Jones 01.15.2017
No comments:
Post a Comment