Genesis 50:20 'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. '
Some people intend to do evil or to harm you, but God will turn it around for your good. Can you think of a circumstance that is causing you harm? Are you trusting God to work it out for your good?
Jeremiah 29:11 writes 'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. '
Context: Jeremiah wrote this letter to a people who were in bondage in Egypt. God was speaking to them through the prophet Jeremiah to remind them that He had a plan. It was an encouraging letter to uplift their hope and remind them of His promises.
The History of this Letter:
- In Genesis 12, God tells Abraham to go to a land and he will make him a great nation. That nation is Israel. In Genesis 15:12-16, God puts Abram (later Abraham) into a deep sleep and reveals to him what's to come. He explains that his descendants will be a great nation but first they will be strangers in a land and they will even be enslaved in that land. God assures Abram that the story doesn't end there, but God will free them.
- As you continue to read in Genesis 16, you will see Abram became impatient, waiting for God to give him children to turn into a nation as promised. So, at his wife's suggestion, Abram had a son (Ishmael) with his wife's handmaid, Hagar.
- In Genesis 17:1-8, God made a covenant with Abram , promising again to greatly multiply him and make him into a multitude of nations. This is also where God told him he will from then on be called Abraham. In verses 15-21, God told Abraham that his wife, Sarai, will now be called Sarah and He promised that through her, they will conceive a son to be named Isaac. God says that while He will take care of Ishmael, the promise of multiplication will come through Isaac.
- In Genesis 25, we read what happens when Abraham passes away, leaving his sons. Verses 12-18 prove to us that God kept his promise to Hagar and Abraham about Ishmael. Verses 19-26 tell us about Isaac's descendants. His wife, Rebekah was barren, but after prayer, God opened her womb. She conceived two sons but they fought in her womb. God explained that there were two nations within her womb and that the older will serve the younger. Jacob is the youngest of the two boys born to Isaac, with his older brother Esau.
- In Genesis 26, during a difficult time of famine, God reminds Isaac of the promise that He made to his father, Abraham to always take care of them and multiply them.
- In Genesis 32, Jacob wrestled with God to get his blessing and his name was changed to Israel.
- In Genesis 35, when Rachel, Jacob's wife died, they buried her with a marker and moved on from there. Jacob had twelve sons, with Joseph being the youngest until Benjamin was born.
- In Gensis 37, God told Joseph that he would be ruler over his brothers and his brothers were jealous because he was also his father's favorite, and so they sold him into slavery. This brought him to Egypt and where he started in a pit, but ended up serving in the palace. He was brilliant and continued to listen to God and advise Pharoah on governing policies.
- In Gensis 42-46, when a famine hit the land again, his brothers went to Egypt in search of food. After a few conversations, Joseph revealed that he was their younger brother and wasn't dead. He sent his brothers for his father and that's how his father, the nation of Israel, ended up in Egypt.
- In Exodus 1, when they grew in size, the next pharoah was afraid of them and chose to enslave them to protect his own, claiming he knew nothing about Joseph and didn't owe him anything. The Israelites sold all they had to try to survive, but then Joseph died.
The letter of Jeremiah was written to these people, Israel, who were uncertain that God would really fulfill His promise to make them a great nation.
- If God has a plan for you, why should you try to make one? Shouldn't we just follow God's plan? In what ways are you trying to make your own plans?
'The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil. When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. ' - Proverbs 16:1-9
It's important to trust the Lord. Everything in this world is God's and He is in control and He is good.
'Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. ' - Psalm 100:3
Follow God's plan because it is good. If you follow your own plan, you might fall into the enemy's traps. God has told you all that you need to know. All you need to do is obey. Things don't have to be difficult. Trust the Lord and His good plan for your life. Don't compromise His word. Follow His ways.
The greatest commandments are to love God and then to love people. Are you loving?
Acts 16:9 tells us God is looking for those who's hearts are for the Lord. Is your heart for the Lord? Are you living an obedient life so that you can experience His amazing plans?
Don't just tell God your problems, tell your problems about God.