In recent visits we’ve considered the context of the promise given in Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
This promise was relayed to the people of Judah in exile, living under the discipline of God at the hands of the Babylonians.
Many in such circumstances would consider this as God harming or punishing them. But, in reality, they chose this outcome. God, through His prophets, had warned them again and again. God even raised up a king, Josiah, to pave the way for revival to come. He got rid of all they had accumulated to worship false gods. He restored the temple.
When God’s Word was found during those renovations and was read to him, Josiah repented and responded wholeheartedly to God. He planned, implemented and provided what was necessary for a celebration of the Passover, grander than any since the time of Samuel. Yet the people, going through the rituals, participated in pretense.
Josiah modelled the response to God’s Word that God was looking and longing for. Jeremiah likewise encouraged a genuine response to God’s Word. But as it has been said, you can lead a horse to the watering trough, but you can’t make it drink from it. And without drinking, that is, reading, meditating, mastering and then, integrating God’s Word into our lives, true, lasting and transformational revival will not take place.
What will your response be to the plan God has for you?
