So let’s just say 2022 was an interesting year. For the past 2 years, life as we knew it, has changed dramatically. There was a global pandemic, civil unrest and reported alien invasions (I will leave that right there). Most people were happy to kick these years out the door. And I can see why. But guess what, Life goes on as we crawl battle scarred into 2023. Even if it’s been predicted by leading scientist, that 2023 looks like it’s going the same way as the previous year, life goes on.

So what does that mean to us?

Sometimes, I think as Christians, we expect ourselves to put up this front that everything is alright. That we have little to no worries or concerns. That we have faith, we have hope, we pray and we serve a living God. So how could we possibly have uncertainties entering this new year? Like everyone else, we have hopes and fears, disappointments, good and bad times. Nonetheless, the key is keeping our eyes fixed on God and holding on to His promises.

 So for my last article of 2022, I will share the scripture that I will be meditating on:

Allow me to give you a bit of context here with this scripture.

You see the Israelites were in exile, a punishment from GOD, as a result of their disobedience. The Prophet Jeremiah confronts the false prophet, Hananiah, who had boldly proclaimed that GOD was going to free Israel from Babylon in two years (spoiler alert: GOD doesn’t do this) Jeremiah calls out Hananiah’s lie and then states the promise we read in 29:11. GOD does indeed have a good plan for the Israelites, and it is a plan that will give them hope and a prospering future.

But you see the thing is, before he shares this promise, he gives them this directive from GOD: “seek the peace and the prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:7)

This was not at all what the Israelites wanted to hear. They wanted to be told that they were going to go home. They wanted to be told that their suffering was going to end. Instead, GOD’s plan was for them to stay right where they were, and to help prosper the nation that enslaved them! And then came the biggest blow of all. In Verse 10, GOD says that he would fulfil this “after seventy years are completed in Babylon.” This meant that none in the current generation of Israelites would ever return to their home. What a crushing thing to be told!

Yes, of course, GOD knows the plans He has for us. And ultimately, He will give us a glorious future. But as we walk out our lives on this crazy earth, let’s remember that the best growth comes through persevering through trials, not escaping them entirely. And when we learn perseverance, we find surprising joy. In the midst of our suffering, let us cling to Jeremiah 29 vs 11, but cling to it for the right reason: not in the false hope that GOD will take away our suffering, but in the true, gospel confidence that he will give you hope in the midst of it.

Furthermore, Christians can take comfort in knowing that God promises to be there for us in these situations. For in the verses immediately following Jeremiah 29:11, God proclaims through Jeremiah that when you “call on me and come and pray to me… I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 19 vs 12-13).

I close this off by leaving you with a prayer:

Thank You, Father, that Your plans are not for my harm, calamity, or evil. Disasters will come, but I thank You that I can trust You to guide me through when these things take place. I’m so grateful that I can trust You to use any challenges in my life for Your glory and my good.

Thank You, Lord, for the good plans You have purposed for me and for all Your children. Enlarge my vision of You and enable me to trust Your Word of truth through all the circumstances of my life, knowing that Your thoughts towards me are only good continually. 

Thank You, Father, that all things work together for good, for those that love You and are fitting into Your plans and purposes. Continue to keep and protect Your people and I pray that many would come to trust in Jesus, their Messiah and King. 

This I ask in Jesus' precious name and for his greater glory and joy.

 AMEN.