“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Such a familiar verse. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance you either have this verse memorized or you have it on a plaque, mug, or print in your home, or both.
But Scripture requires context and this verse is no exception.
For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back from the place from which I sent you into exile.
Jeremiah 29:10-14, emphasis added
“When seventy years are complete for Babylon …” The Israelites were to be exiled for seventy years because of their disobedience to the Lord.
Does that change the meaning of “the plans I have for you”? Absolutely! Sometimes His plans for our good involve discipline due our disobedient and rebellious hearts. And sometimes it can last a long time. Not because He is vengeful … but because He loves us so desperately.
God will always work in us — and in spite of us! — for our good and for His glory.
In our marriages, we will face difficult seasons where it is hard to see God’s hand at work or His plan being for our good. But we can trust His Word. Whatever happens, wherever He leads, whatever He allows, His plan for us is for our good … and for His glory. Always.
We can always trust God's plan, even when it's hard. http://wp.me/p3aJPA-1Qi #PrayersForMarriage Click To Tweet
Lord, when the hard seasons come {especially when we’ve brought them on ourselves with our disobedience}, cause us to stand sure that Your plans are always for our good. Remind us how You work in and through us for Your glory. Teach us to trust in You always. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
image source: magdeleine.com
31 Verses to Pray for Your Marriage index
Do you read Kristen Welch of We Are THAT Family? She is one of my very favorite writers and on the VERY short list of “must read” bloggers. Earlier this week she wrote this:
I have hated my husband and desperately loved him all at the same time. I have helped him fight his demons and they have become mine. We have fought our way back to love and we will not stop. This journey has been hard and beautiful, but I wouldn’t change any of it. Because I have learned truths along the way: It’s usually not the big confessionals that end a marriage, it’s the little enemies we overlook and ignore.
Read the rest of her post … 4 things that can save or sink a marriage … I promise you will be encouraged and challenged.
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