Day 8 - promises
Warning - not a pink and fluffy post. If you want pink and fluffy switch over now 😁
Hands up if at some point within the first half hour of you becoming a christian someone gave you this verse.
Yup, that would be just about everyone then, After John 3 :16 this has got to be one of the most quoted, given, and received verses in scripture. It certainly played a part in my first steps as a Christian and has echoed down through the ages ever since. But not necessarily in a helpful way.
I suspect that the verse is often used as a mantra, a ' good wish' , a nice vibe by well meaning people who want to say something positive and kind to encourage people in their first steps, or indeed to bolster them during some period of trial or difficulty, The trouble is, we take it out of context and as a result, what we intended for good, nice, kind, the enemy can twist and use to mess with your head
Let me explain,
Several years ago I was standing in tears at the ironing board wondering where it had all gone so horribly wrong. I was deeply unhappy, terribly lonely, spiritually in a desert and hating being a mother to three demanding small boys under the age of five. My life seemed to be one brain numbing round of washing, cleaning, and talk about small people. I was an ocean away from family and friends, my husband had disappeared into his work and to be perfectly honest this was not what I had signed up for. I remember standing at the ironing board yelling at God that He had ' promised' me a ' future and a hope' all those years ago. And this was it. I was living that future right there and then. And it wasnt up to much. God spoke to me and He told me I was disappointed. Too right I was disappointed. It was a mess and I hated everything about it. I wanted out but there was no escape. Where was the hope? I couldnt see a glimmer of it anywhere.
The thing is, that when we glibly hand out verses which we think promise great blessing and comfort and safety we need to be careful. Because that might just be our wishes and hopes for someone. It might not be God's word to them. Most of us really want the good stuff. We want to believe that God has buckets of blessings up ahead. We seize the words and place the weight of our expectations on them. But then...
A young, newly married woman in our church waved her husband off to work on his motorbike one day a couple of years back. He came home many months later in a wheelchair with permanent damage to most systems in his body. They face a future which is so far removed from the one they were ( reasonably) expecting. Where is the ' future and the hope' in that situation? Of course, you do understand that Im not saying scripture isnt true, that there is no future and no hope, or indeed that it is wrong to quote that verse to people. Im just saying that we need to be careful. Is it what God is saying or is it what we think we would like Him to be saying, or what we would like to hear?
When Jeremiah received these words from the Lord he was in dire straits and so was the nation of Israel. They had been taken into captivity in Babylon and a wave of ' prophets' had come along trying to reassure them that God was coming soon to rescue them , not to worry, it was all going to be OK. Jeremiah thought otherwise. He felt God saying that the captivity was going to last a lifetime, that freedom wasnt going to come until the next generation were ready for it, and that in the meantime people would have to hunker down and get on with life as captives. Which message was the easier to hear? Which did the people really want to be true? This is the context into which God says ' I know the plans I have for you' He seems to be saying ' This isnt going to be what you had hoped for or dreamed of, there arent going to be any quick fixes, you might not like this much - but trust me. I know what Im doing'. If people gave us that when we first became Christians we might think twice before posting it up on our bedroom walls 😀
The plans that God has for us arent always peace and love and joy. They are sometimes trials and tests and widerness years. The dark night of the soul and the changing seasons of life affect us all at some point. Perhaps what we need in these times is not someone plucking a Bible verse out of the promise box but someone who is genuinely listening for what God is saying, and giving us that word, even if its not what we want to hear. Jeremiah had to deliver a difficult word to the people in exile - but what he said was actually tremendously encouraging. God has led you into exile, He knows where you are and how you are dealing with it. He has appointed an end to this time but you won't see it, your children will. In the meantime He will be with you and will help you to make the best of the situation. Keep on worshipping Him in exile and learn the lessons He wants you to learn. He is not going to leave you or forsake you. Beware of the prophets who tell you its all going to be easy and quick and painless. You might not understand His ways right now, but in the light of eternity you will see His hand working through it all. God is good.
I truly hope that right now you are living in the blessing of the future and the hope God promised you years and decades ago. But if it doesnt feel like that, don't despair. You have not been short changed. God promises that at some point in the future the hopes that He has placed in your heart will be realised. If not here then in eternity. If not in your life then in the lives of your children and grandchildren. And in the meantime He is working on your behalf to form the nature and character of Jesus in you so that the world will see that He is Lord.
Hands up if at some point within the first half hour of you becoming a christian someone gave you this verse.
Yup, that would be just about everyone then, After John 3 :16 this has got to be one of the most quoted, given, and received verses in scripture. It certainly played a part in my first steps as a Christian and has echoed down through the ages ever since. But not necessarily in a helpful way.I suspect that the verse is often used as a mantra, a ' good wish' , a nice vibe by well meaning people who want to say something positive and kind to encourage people in their first steps, or indeed to bolster them during some period of trial or difficulty, The trouble is, we take it out of context and as a result, what we intended for good, nice, kind, the enemy can twist and use to mess with your head
Let me explain,
Several years ago I was standing in tears at the ironing board wondering where it had all gone so horribly wrong. I was deeply unhappy, terribly lonely, spiritually in a desert and hating being a mother to three demanding small boys under the age of five. My life seemed to be one brain numbing round of washing, cleaning, and talk about small people. I was an ocean away from family and friends, my husband had disappeared into his work and to be perfectly honest this was not what I had signed up for. I remember standing at the ironing board yelling at God that He had ' promised' me a ' future and a hope' all those years ago. And this was it. I was living that future right there and then. And it wasnt up to much. God spoke to me and He told me I was disappointed. Too right I was disappointed. It was a mess and I hated everything about it. I wanted out but there was no escape. Where was the hope? I couldnt see a glimmer of it anywhere.The thing is, that when we glibly hand out verses which we think promise great blessing and comfort and safety we need to be careful. Because that might just be our wishes and hopes for someone. It might not be God's word to them. Most of us really want the good stuff. We want to believe that God has buckets of blessings up ahead. We seize the words and place the weight of our expectations on them. But then...
A young, newly married woman in our church waved her husband off to work on his motorbike one day a couple of years back. He came home many months later in a wheelchair with permanent damage to most systems in his body. They face a future which is so far removed from the one they were ( reasonably) expecting. Where is the ' future and the hope' in that situation? Of course, you do understand that Im not saying scripture isnt true, that there is no future and no hope, or indeed that it is wrong to quote that verse to people. Im just saying that we need to be careful. Is it what God is saying or is it what we think we would like Him to be saying, or what we would like to hear?
When Jeremiah received these words from the Lord he was in dire straits and so was the nation of Israel. They had been taken into captivity in Babylon and a wave of ' prophets' had come along trying to reassure them that God was coming soon to rescue them , not to worry, it was all going to be OK. Jeremiah thought otherwise. He felt God saying that the captivity was going to last a lifetime, that freedom wasnt going to come until the next generation were ready for it, and that in the meantime people would have to hunker down and get on with life as captives. Which message was the easier to hear? Which did the people really want to be true? This is the context into which God says ' I know the plans I have for you' He seems to be saying ' This isnt going to be what you had hoped for or dreamed of, there arent going to be any quick fixes, you might not like this much - but trust me. I know what Im doing'. If people gave us that when we first became Christians we might think twice before posting it up on our bedroom walls 😀
The plans that God has for us arent always peace and love and joy. They are sometimes trials and tests and widerness years. The dark night of the soul and the changing seasons of life affect us all at some point. Perhaps what we need in these times is not someone plucking a Bible verse out of the promise box but someone who is genuinely listening for what God is saying, and giving us that word, even if its not what we want to hear. Jeremiah had to deliver a difficult word to the people in exile - but what he said was actually tremendously encouraging. God has led you into exile, He knows where you are and how you are dealing with it. He has appointed an end to this time but you won't see it, your children will. In the meantime He will be with you and will help you to make the best of the situation. Keep on worshipping Him in exile and learn the lessons He wants you to learn. He is not going to leave you or forsake you. Beware of the prophets who tell you its all going to be easy and quick and painless. You might not understand His ways right now, but in the light of eternity you will see His hand working through it all. God is good.I truly hope that right now you are living in the blessing of the future and the hope God promised you years and decades ago. But if it doesnt feel like that, don't despair. You have not been short changed. God promises that at some point in the future the hopes that He has placed in your heart will be realised. If not here then in eternity. If not in your life then in the lives of your children and grandchildren. And in the meantime He is working on your behalf to form the nature and character of Jesus in you so that the world will see that He is Lord.
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