Articles
Plans for Those in Pain
Jeremiah 29:11 – “‘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.’” After Manasseh’s sinful reign in Judah, captivity to the Babylonians was inevitable for God’s people (2 Kings 23:26-27). Judah would be carried off to a foreign land for 70 years, mocked by other nations and ridiculed by their captors (Psalms 137:1-3). Yet even before God punished His people He was planning their restoration. “'I will turn their mourning into joy and will comfort them and give them joy for their sorrow… and My people will be satisfied with My goodness,' declares the LORD” (Jer. 31:13-14).
No matter what trials we go through in this life, we can be confident that our God loves us and wants the best for us. We may not always understand the hard things, but God says “I know the plans that I have for you.” When we learn to trust that God has a future and a hope for us, we can freely embrace our suffering. It was on the basis of hope that God could urge His people to not only surrender to, but to make the best of their hard time in Babylon: “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf…” (Jeremiah 29:7).
