A Future and a Hope in Jesus

“This is what the Lord says: “…I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know that plans I have for you, “ declares the Lord,” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord…” Jeremiah 29:11-12 NIV

Some of us know very early in life what we were meant to do. It’s clear what our passions, pursuits, and talents are based on what drives our hearts through the love of Jesus. For others, however, it is a different story. A tale of woes trying to figure it out. No talent, no gift to be seen. But if you look closely you will see God has given each of you something of special significance that will be blessed because of you and your presence.

The Lord wants to bless His children with good things. A future and a hope are good things He promised to the nation of Israel in the days of old: “I know the plans I have for you…plans to give you hope and a future…”, but He also promised us a new future and hope through Jesus:

“He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave to them saying, “All of you drink it, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink anew with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” Matthew 26:27-29 WEBUS 

Because of Jesus we are living in a post-covenant relationship with God. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the promise from God for a future and a hope, we can be assured that the Faith to Follow God lifestyle that we want to live will be well within our reach at all times. Below are a few ways we can find Faith to Follow God for a Future and a Hope in Jesus:

God Promises to Come to Us

The first promise we see in today’s verse consoles me most in my times of need: “I will come to you…” Something about God coming to me says everything to me. I am a parent, so I know this to be true. How many times have I stood waiting for my child to come to me and their stubbornness won out and I had to go to them and pick them up and bring them to myself? Yes, quite literally, I can envision God having to do that with me sometimes. James 4:8 says: “Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you.” So, really, we win either way. If we are drawing near to God, He’s going to draw near to us. And if we are being stubborn, God is still going to come to us. But wouldn’t you rather it be your willing and drawing near heart that He finds you drawing in? What a hope and a future indeed to find God coming to us and drawing near!

God Promises to Bring You Back

(DISCLOSURE: Before we go further, this example in the Bible we are using from today’s Scripture is specifically for the nation of Israel for the time in which it was written: pre-Babylonian captivity. It does not mean we ourselves are going into exile and God will bring us back to our Promised Land once exile and captivity have ended. In case you were wondering where I was going with this).

Now that that is settled. We can still draw a promise from this example. God doesn’t back down from a promise, and His promises remain the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, if He promised Israel that He would bring them back to their promised land of goodness once they’ve been taught a lesson for their disobedience through their captivity and hardship, then why can’t we learn the same lesson and receive the same reward?

God will teach us lessons for our disobedience, as well. We will go through hardship, maybe even captivity. But, on the other side of captivity and hardship is a promised land of goodness for you that even you can’t think or imagine. If that’s where you are today, and you have to leave for a time, don’t worry, God promises to bring you back!

God Promises He Knows What His Plans Are For You

This is probably my second favorite promise in this Scripture, ifI’m counting them. You and I don’t have to worry too much about what God’s plans for our lives are, especially if we can’t figure them out. God knows what they are and as long as we’re seeking Him daily, we won’t miss one thing God has for us.

I tell my writing friends this very thing all the time. We are always trying to find the next break, the next publishing opportunity, get the next blog or email subscriber, next social media follower, trying to catch a break any and every which way, within God’s glory and plans of course. And I tell them all the time: “We don’t have to figure all of this out on our own. God knows what He’s doing. We don’t have to know. As long as we seek Him daily, we won’t miss one thing the Lord has for us.”

This is true for you, too. No matter your passion, pursuit, or plans. God knows what His plans for your life are. And those plans are laid out in that verse as well: “…plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God will surely not change His promise because of you. You are not going to change His mind about you.

God Promises to Listen to You

God says that as long as you come to Him, call on Him, pray to Him, He’s going to listen to you. If only humans were as good at listening like God was! Maybe then we’d even believe God was telling the truth here. But He is. I’ve never met with God and ever felt like He didn’t draw near and listen to me when I fully surrendered and called on Him and earnestly prayed to Him. There were times when He would just listen, never speak, and those times left me confused, and sometimes hurt. But, I always knew He was there listening. That promise means a lot to me because I have had people in my life through the years not listen to me. And that hurts. God always loves, always listens to His children. And eventually you will get a response. Maybe it’s a no, but there’s always a response.

God Promises Always to Be Found by You

The final promise this week is the one that means the most to us all. God tells us, “I will be found by you.” But, why is this such a meaningful promise? He already said He would come to us, why is it so amazing that we can find Him if He is already coming to us? Oh, dear one, let me tell you why! Because this promise is for the one who is still in captivity even after they’ve received their freedom! This person is still in bondage, still has heart work to do with the Lord. God says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you…”, This is for the soul who is longing for God but needs to find their heart in the right posture to see Him again. This is a promise from God that He can be found if your heart is in the right place. You will find God with your heart, your whole heart. Always. Keep seeking, God promises He will be found.

A future and a hope in Jesus are within our grasp, deep within our heart, all at the same time. It is up to us to draw near to God often, lean heavily on His promises, call on Him and pray to Him fervently, and seek Him and find Him with all our hearts. This is the Faith to Follow God lifestyle we desire to live in order to find our future and hope in Jesus.

With love and blessings,