“For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
In a very dark moment in my life a friend said, “Do not doubt in the darkness what you have come to know in the light.” At the invitation of a ministry leader whom we loved and respected, our family moved across Canada to take on the “perfect roles” for both my wife and me. Within eight months the roles and the leader changed. On top of this, two of our four children were having significant struggles adjusting to the move. I was deeply perplexed and discouraged. Nothing was going the way we had planned.
The backdrop of Jeremiah 29 is the nation of Israel going through a long season of darkness in which they had many reasons to doubt. They were in Babylonian captivity because of their disobedience and rebellion. God gives them His promise that He is with them and has a plan — a good plan for their well-being that involves a promise of a good future.
In my family’s dark season, we began to focus on the clarity of God’s call. Our decision to move was not based on the circumstances but on a deep soul searching after God’s direction. God made it very clear this move was His clear direction and plan. Like the Israelites, we had to trust. It was hard but we lifted our heads and affirmed that what God had shown us in the light would guide us during this dark time. We passed through the darkness into hope, not because the circumstances changed quickly ? they didn’t ? but because our confidence in the midst of disappointment did.
God I confess that I have doubted you. At times I do not like what is happening around me and I want to quite, give up, and make the pain stop. But by faith I’m going to trust that you have a good plan and you have a future for me that fits into your plan. I will keep seeking and trusting you. I know you are good and you love me. Amen.
