I don’t like saying it, but come 2023 it will be ten years since I’ve graduated from high school. Senior year seems so long ago, but I do remember some of the big moments from that year– like how hot it was the day that I got my senior pictures done, and how excited I was when my class ring (that I wore for maybe six months) came in. I also remember my prom and how disappointed I was with our theme; how did we go from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory to something as generic and bland as Under The Sea? It’s like the PTO used up all of the money and creativity for the previous seniors’ prom.
One of my other distinguishing senior moments was the relief I had when I saw that my senior page in the yearbook did not contain what I used to call the “graduation scripture” aka Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” It’s not that I didn’t like the scripture. I just didn’t like how it was plastered on literally seventy-five percent of the senior pages, as if the parents googled, “What to write for child’s senior page.”
Looking back, I realize now that I was pretty pretentious to silently judge the parents who chose this verse. While I prefer things that are unique and out of the ordinary, I get why Jeremiah 29:11 has become the “graduation scripture.” Even if a high school senior knows what she will be doing after she graduates–joining the workforce, military, or going to school–there is still a lot of uncertainty about the road ahead. And when the prophet Jeremiah wrote this verse, the Jewish people were in a serious time of uncertainty, as they had just been taken into captivity. Imagine being forced into exile: you have to leave your home, your job, and possibly be separated from your family. Your whole life has changed, and you have no idea what the future looks like.
The most unfortunate part to me is that the people ended up in this awful situation because of their own actions, not God’s. The Jewish people had a nasty habit of coming to God when they needed something, getting what they wanted, and then turning away from God and worshipping foreign gods (definitely not like us Christians AT ALL today sarcastic *cough cough*.) Before the exile, God had spoken through numerous prophets declaring that the people needed to turn back to God and quit living a life of disobedience. In fact, the earlier chapters of Jeremiah were written pre-exile, and the gist of God’s message through Jeremiah is the same message of previous prophets–turn away from sin and turn back to God (repentance.)
Clearly, the Jews did not heed God’s warnings, but God being the merciful God that He is, still offered a message of hope to His people. In Jeremiah 29: 12-14, God promises that He will bring the Jews out of captivity and into their land again after they seek Him with all of their heart. The prophet Jeremiah would also write about the coming Messiah, the greatest hope of all–Jesus–in the later chapters of the book.
Over the past few years, Jeremiah 29: 11 has become one of the verses I remind myself of a lot when I’m going through a difficult time. It gives me comfort to know that the Creator of the Universe has my life in His hands and that He has good things in store for me. But understanding the historical context behind this scripture has given me more insight into God’s character and who He wants to be to us. The NIV translation says that God has “plans” for us, and I love this translation; it takes a tremendous amount of pressure off of me knowing that God has multiple plans for my life and that they are all good.
The Babylonian exile was not God’s plan A for the Jewish people, just like it wasn’t God’s plan A for Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, causing sin to come into the world. He knew that these things would happen because God gives us all free will, the opportunity to make decisions for ourselves. Sometimes our free will clashes with God’s perfect will for our lives when we choose to disobey God’s voice. Even though Adam and Eve disobeyed God, which resulted in separation from God and man, God didn’t call it quits! He developed another plan to restore what was lost (read Genesis 3:15,) which we know was sending His son Jesus into the world to take on the penalty of sin. The same goes for the Jewish people. Even though they refused to turn back to God, causing them to be exiled into Baylon, God still had a plan for His people to return to their homeland.
I believe that Satan wants to discourage us by telling us that we’ve made too many mistakes for God to use us or that we deserve to be in the situation we’re in forever because of our mistakes, but friends, God wants to be our Redeemer. He wants to rescue us from our pain and trouble even if we’re the cause of our crappy circumstances. So whether you’re on plan A or plan ZZZ, remember that all of God’s plans for you are good! Romans 8:28 tells us, “ And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” We should strive to listen and obey God the first time, because God honors our obedience to Him, but know that no one and no situation is beyond repair for God. He loves you and wants to make all things work together for good for you if you’ll let Him.
