Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon…

- Jeremiah 29:4

Dear Pastor,

You likely own something with Jeremiah 29:11 printed on it: 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. What a robust promise for us to hang our hopes on, or to at least hang on our wall.

But this promise is not meant for you to merely sip coffee from when all is well. This promise is for you to grasp with a white-knuckle-hold-on-for-your-life grip when the enemy is carrying you away to your demise. 

Jeremiah 29:11 is addressed to “all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.” (29:1) How do you hang on to the promises of God when your enemies are carrying you away from the very land that God promised to give you? 

And the issue gets even stickier. God states no less than four times in the surrounding verses that He is the one that caused Nebuchadnezzar to carry them away captive! Can you trust that God’s thoughts toward you are good, even as He causes you to be carried away captive by your enemies?

Friend, could it be that some of your darkest hours are caused by your Lord? Could the strife, struggle, and disappointments that have beset you be caused by the very One that has promised that His intentions toward you are for your good?  If this is the truth, you have two options, in the darkest of circumstances: You can doubt the goodness of His intentions, or submit to His work in your heart.

Every saint must face this question at some point in their journey. Will you believe that God’s intentions for you are good, even when it looks like the enemy is winning? Will you trust when all the promises seem to have failed? On your answer to this question, your faith will either fail or flourish, falter or overcome. You must believe that God is preparing you for something more glorious than you can imagine, more satisfying than your current appetites can desire, more significant than your greatest ambitions! His thoughts toward you are good! And for that purpose, He has brought you to this place where you sit in the midst of your enemies, seemingly far from the promise being fulfilled.

You may ask, “How can I know His intentions toward me are still good?” For this, we have something made more sure than what even Jeremiah and his companions had.  We can look back to the Cross and the empty tomb. Pastor, He has loved you with an everlasting love. He has pursued you, sparing no cost. He has purchased you with His most precious blood. He will stop at nothing to have you as His own! So joyfully yield to His good work here in a foreign land. You can have every confidence that He will surely bring you home.