(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see how)
Focus Question:
What is God’s will for my life?
Intro:
New here? Check out this episode for something more “normal.”
What now? Lord, what do you want me to do?
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably had a moment where you wished it was more clear. And maybe you’ve heard a line like “the Lord has a wonderful plan for your life.”
Well, He does, but his ways are not our ways.
So some of you know that I am not married. And I would love to be so, but about seven months ago the Lord told me, “no dating.” So while I don’t know if I’m waiting for something, somewhere, or someone, it’s mighty tempting to ask if He does have a plan for me.
As you’ll hear today, one of those verses that sounds really juicy at a time like this is upcoming…and it just happens to be one of those verse taken out of context a lot.
To be fair, it’s easy to want it to say the wrong thing. And to be fair, today’s focus question – What’s God’s wlll for my life? – isn’t something I’m going to answer the same way the many books out there on that topic.
Finally, today I’m calling an audible. I’m changing up the order of our reading today for reasons I hope will become obvious, but I’ll wrap it all up with a bow at the end.
Old Testament segment:
Passage: Jeremiah 29
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 392
Words: ~949
So…God’s been warning them – keep breaking our covenant, and there will be consequences. Now they get conquered and a good bunch of them get hauled off to Babylon. What’s his message through Jeremiah?
One, he tells them actually “pursue the well-being of the city” where they’re living as exiles. Crazy, right? Slaves seeking the welfare of their captors? Remember that we read Peter saying this same thing just a few days ago? Here, Jeremiah also links it to the warning not to be deceived by false prophets.
Too, as DA Carson points out, Jeremiah then sets out the destiny of three groups:
1. He promises to restore those in captivity to Jerusalem after 70 years – something bound up with hearts transformed and seeking Him.
2. There are those left behind in Jerusalem who have some consequences coming…and the religiosity of being near the temple is not going to spare them.
3. The false prophets in Babylon whose message went hand in hand with immorality.(1)
So now we call out that commonly misquoted verse – “I know the plans I have for you…plans for well-being and not disaster.” As a stand-alone verse, that makes for a pretty awesome meme. “Awwww, God wants good things for me.” What’s missing is two bits of context. One, it’s a message to a group of people in exile in Babylon, not you and me. Two, it doesn’t mean whatever I do…it’s speaking specifically about the good consequence of turning to God and the not so great consequence of failing to do so.
New Testament segment:
Passage: 1 Peter 5
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 14
Words: ~319
The bottom line:
There’s another reason a passage like this one in Jeremiah is important – it’s an actual historical event that can be corroborated outside the Bible. And it’s one that was prophesied about in advance. Human beings don’t pull that off, but God, through His prophets then and His Word now does.
So when it comes to God’s will for our lives, where does this touch down? Again, this isn’t an exhaustive treatment, but as we saw in both Jeremiah and Peter, God’s rather concerned with how we live. It’s popular to say Christianity isn’t all about a set of rules, and that’s true in that we’re saved by faith alone through grace alone. But the Creator of the Cosmos knows created a good and perfectly-ordered universe and might have some idea about what’s best for us.
And that verse about God having plans for us? Yup, you guessed it. As new covenant people, this was a foreshadowing of the fact that we face eternal consequences…and you’re going to be accountable for what you’ve done with Jesus. And the message of 1 Peter’s been the same – you’re strangers in a strange land, called to endurance as holy strangers.
It’s not exactly a message about whether you should buy a new car or not, now, is it?
Roger
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Carson, D. A.. For the Love of God (Vol. 2): A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word . Crossway. Kindle Edition.