Special Purpose

One of my favorite, universal verses is Jeremiah 29:11.  I’m sure most, if not all of you, know that verse by heart.  It’s a verse that carries promise, restores lost hope, gives us peace, shows God’s genuine interest in our tomorrows, and proves how great God’s love for us is.

When I’m feeling down, this verse lifts me up. When I feel like I have no future, I remember this verse.  When I wonder why God even created me in this time and in this place, that verse brings me comfort.

The first part of Jeremiah 29:11 says this: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD,”. The Maker of the universe is talking to each of us, individually.  He’s not saying “you” as in the whole world population, even though He does have thoughts toward everyone and everything living, but this part is what makes it so special.  God speaking to us as individuals and not as a country, a group of people, a tribe; but rather as our own unique person.

The second part of the verse continues on with: “thoughts of peace and not of evil,”. God does not think malicious thoughts towards us. He doesn’t tell His children to find their own way through the dark. He wishes peace among us and not harm. Unlike Satan who wishes all of God’s children to fall into sin. Having peaceful lives is what God desires for you and for me. As I will get to in a little bit.

The last part of the verse says: “to give you a future and a hope”.  I think that this part of the verse is sometimes the best message.  Because the first part of the verse is leading up to this: God’s thoughts=good; God’s good thoughts toward us=peace; God’s good thoughts toward us are peaceful=future and hope. The message here is that God wants us to have a future.  And that future will lead to eternal life with Him in heaven. And when our life on this earth is fulfilled, we are sure to have a home with Him forevermore. Until that time though, we have a future on this earth.  And we have hope for the future after that.

As I said I would mention later, our parent’s concern for our lives are the same as God’s, only God has our lives “mapped” out and His desire is much greater. But our parents raise us by feeding us, clothing us, loving us, and preparing us to be Christian leaders in our society; just as our Father in heaven does. Our earthly parents want us to have successful lives, to give God all the glory, and to fully live our lives for Him.  God wants this as well.  And as possible future parents ourselves one day, we will wish our children the same.

God’s words at the beginning of the book of Jeremiah say the following: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;..”.  God had a plan for our lives before we were even born.  Long before our parents even knew we were going to exist, God knew what we were going to do and who we were going to become.

So the next time, we have the feeling that we don’t have purpose or our tomorrows aren’t worth living for, God is right by our side to remind us that we do have value, even far above rubies.

Blessings,
Anna