An Expected End
"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."
(Jeremiah 29:11 NASB1995)
To understand these words, we must understand the context in which they were spoken. The Lord was speaking to Israel, a people who had been carried into captivity in Babylon.
It was in the midst of this judgment that the LORD gave them a promise:
“For I know the plans that I have for you…”.
God wanted Israel to understand that what they were experiencing, though difficult, was not the end of His dealings with them.
“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place."
(Jeremiah 29:10 NASB1995)
There is a significant lesson for the believer: not everything that appears good is from God, and not everything that is from God will initially appear good to us. We are often quick to interpret every favorable opportunity that presents itself, as, “A door God has opened.” Not every opportunity is an invitation from God. Regardless, one conclusion we must be able to settle in our hearts is this:
“I know the plans that God has for me.”
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8–9 NASB1995)
We must learn to appreciate that God does not see things the way we do. He does not work according to the ways of man. It is common to assume there is a particular path we must take to arrive at what God has shown us, only to find that God leads us somewhere else. There are also moments when a prophecy seems to be followed by circumstances that appear to contradict it.
We may experience delays and setbacks, or wonder why things have not happened the way we thought they would.
But even in this, God is saying:
“I know the plans that I have for you.”
In whatever season of life we find ourselves in, we must learn to have contentment rooted in our trust and hope in the Lord. Jesus said:
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
(John 14:27 NASB1995)
Christ has given us peace. The peace Christ gives is different from the peace the world offers. In the world, peace is the absence of trouble. In the faith, peace is the presence of Christ.
Although peace does not mean that there is no storm, we must have the assurance that Jesus always in the storm.
The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, does not always come to take the waters away. Sometimes, He keeps us in the ark while the waters remain all around us.
He is with us, so we do not have to be shaken by every circumstance. We keep walking, trusting that nothing we encounter can undo the peace we have in Christ.
"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one."
(John 17:14–15 NASB1995)
Jesus did not ask the Father to take His disciples out of the world so that they would be spared its troubles. He knew they would face persecution, imprisonment and suffering because of the Gospel. His prayer was not that they would be rescued from every difficulty, but that they would be kept in the midst of it.
The situations we see as a major hurdle may be one of the ways God increases our capacity. The tribulation may be for our advantage, and when we arrive at that expected end, we may find that the process has built the capacity we need to carry the promises of God.
Ungodly ambition causes us rush ahead of God and become so determined to reach a particular destination that we begin to compromise the process. We may rely on our own strength and strategies if we are unwilling to wait for God.
Scripture says:
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
And rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!”
(Isaiah 31:1 NASB1995)
Jesus speaks about this in the parable of the sower. The seed that fell among the thorns was choked by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things, and it became unfruitful. When we rely on our own strategies to force an outcome, we are essentially declaring, “God, I do not trust Your ways or Your timing. I do not believe that You have good thoughts toward me.”
Paul gives us another way to respond:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
(Philippians 4:6 NASB1995)
Do not worry about anything. There is a place we can come to where, in the midst of every situation, we settle this in our hearts: God provides for us. He is the One we trust, and He is the One who can make what seems impossible possible.
Jesus takes this further in Matthew 6 when He speaks about what we will eat, what we will drink, what we will wear and our concern for tomorrow. These are the things the Gentiles seek. They are not meant to be the focus of someone who knows God as Father.
Declare:
"I do not fail. I succeed in all things."
We must give our lives to the service of God. Jesus said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” Kingdom work is the Father’s business. And if it is our Father’s business, then our reward ultimately comes from Him.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
(Philippians 4:6 NASB1995)
Our thoughts have the power to transform our lives. Scripture says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We must learn to train our minds toward what is good rather than constantly expecting what is evil.
Paul gives believers a pattern for their thoughts. There are things we are called to dwell on: what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and worthy of praise.
What we believe is possible, and the way we position ourselves before God can either expand or limit what we are able to receive from Him.
Additionally, holding on to past mistakes can can keep us from walking into what God has for us. One of our greatest advantages is keeping our eyes on Jesus. Scripture says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” To look unto Jesus is to turn our attention away from everything that competes for our gaze and fix it on Him.
Finally, one thing that is said about Abraham in the book of Romans chapter 4 verse 18:
“In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”
Paul goes on to say that Abraham did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith although his "body was now as good as dead.” Abraham understood how impossible the promise appeared. Yet he believed. Abraham shows us what it means to believe God beyond what we can see.
God’s ways may not look like our ways, but we must choose to trust in His word at all times.
Excerpts from Sir Elorm's teaching on "An Expected End".;
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