Read

God's Good Plans for You

Jeremiah 29:10-14

People don't often attribute evil things to God, but they often question His motives. If He didn't cause a bad thing to happen, why did He appear to allow it to happen? If God is good (Psalm 86:5) and God is love (1 John 4:8, 16), why does God allow bad and unloving events to happen in our lives? Or, at the very least, why doesn't He help us understand exactly what His purpose is?

If the nation of Israel had asked those questions while they were in captivity in Babylon it would have been because they hadn't been paying attention. God told them clearly why they were being disciplined—because they had not walked faithfully in their covenant relationship with God. But God went the extra mile and reassured them that they could have hope in their future in spite of their suffering. He promised to return them to their homeland: "'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,' says the Lord, 'thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope'" (Jeremiah 29:11).

That promise for Israel, and for us, is consistent with God's character. If God is good and God is love, then everything He does or allows is motivated by goodness and love regardless of how it appears at the moment. There might be a specific, immediate reason for circumstances, as in Jesus learning obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8). Or the purpose might be more long term, as in God bringing Israel back into covenant with Himself or God conforming us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

In either case—in every case—God's plans are good and loving because that's who He is. Just as Israel was, we are called to walk by faith and not by sight—faith in God's love and God's goodness in spite of how things may appear at the moment.

Back to Jeremiah