In our Bible study on Jeremiah 29:11-13, the Lord is speaking to the nation of Israel through Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Jeremiah says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and you will find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (29:11-13).
The book of Jeremiah details yet another struggle between God and His chosen people in the land He gave to them. At this point in history, the Israelites had reached another height of debauchery, worshiping foreign gods, relishing in sinful lusts and passions, and altogether abandoning the God who saved them and nurtured them during their trials, who saved them from slavery in Egypt, who promised this land to their fathers long ago, and who prepared the way for them.
In Jeremiah, God pleads with His people, through the prophet Jeremiah, His messenger, to turn from their evil ways and to once again worship Him. Jeremiah rebukes the Israelites for their wickedness, warns them of God’s plan to give them over to the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and pleads with God on their behalf.
A Pattern to Recognize
Throughout Scripture we see this pattern. Men grow increasingly sinful, God sends a prophet to warn them of His impending wrath, the people respond in anger, hostility, or simply without care, and God waits. Finally, God disciplines His people. Then they turn from evil and worship Him, for a time, recommitting their lives to Him, and He restores them.
I think many of us have experienced this cycle in our own lives, in one way or another. Because God disciplines those whom He loves. And He isn’t finished until He’s made a people for His own possession.
Exiled in Babylon
By this point in the book of Jeremiah, the king of Babylon has carried off the remnants of Israel into exile, and God sends word to His prophet. Jeremiah, in the Spirit of God and on His command, sends a letter to all the exiles instructing them to do the unthinkable. Submit to Babylonian rule, God says. And not only that, but pray for the towns they’re exiled in, “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you,” He says, “for in its welfare you will have welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7).
A Promise is Made
This is where God reveals His plan. Jeremiah 29:11-13 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and you will find Me when you search for me with all your heart.’” He says that after seventy years in exile, He will fulfill His promise to gather His people back together from exile and return them to the land He promised to them, to their forefathers before them.
Of course, this message from the Lord was meant for the people of Israel during their time in exile in Babylon. But it was recorded for our encouragement and instruction, and it still carries truth today. Truth about God’s character, and about our relationship with Him, and with others. These are the truths we should seek when we read His word.
Because He Knows
The first thing that strikes me about this passage is the first three words: For I know. It makes me think of the times I’ve spent in defiant anger with God for things I wanted that I felt He didn’t deliver, at least in my timing, or about the things that happened that I didn’t want. It makes me think of every time I’ve questioned God, whether in prayer or in my heart.
The implication, to me, is “just because you don’t know the end, doesn’t mean there isn’t a purpose for all of this. You don’t know, but I know what’s coming.” In this passage, God is saying, “trust me. Have faith in me. Because I know what my plans for you are. And you don’t. So you have to trust me.”
It speaks of humility, and trust. Once we let go of our own pride, of the belief that we know what’s best, and learn to trust in the plan that God has for our lives, life gets easier. Not because the circumstances change, but because our hearts do. No longer putting faith in ourselves, or in the world and the people around us, we learn to put our trust in God. When we put our trust in God, in times of trouble we get to watch Him work—and revel in His majesty.
Plans for Prosperity
God continues His plea by encouraging His people that His plans are not for their destruction, or for the calamity they’re currently experiencing. Rather, His plans are for their welfare, for their ultimate good.
Imagine, in your darkest times, when your spirit is low and your needs feel many, that God comes to you and says, “I know what you’re going through right now is rough. But this is all a part of My plan. Not the end of my plan, just a part. My plan is to achieve your righteousness and sanctification. But in order to get there, you’ve got to endure this calamity. If you can endure, just a little longer, you’ll see My plan fulfilled.”
Wouldn’t that give you so much hope? That’s what the Lord is saying, through Jeremiah, to His children of Israel. And by extension, that’s what He’s saying to us, now and forever. Throughout Scripture, God tells us to endure. James says, “Consider it all joy […] when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (1:2-3). The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God”.
Given this, we can rest assured that, while painful trials will come, God orchestrates it all. Even our own mistakes and poor decisions, even our most depraved sinful behaviors, will result in His glory.
Our Response
The next verse begins with an important shift: then. “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me,” God says. This gives us a glimpse into the future He’s planned, and the purpose for the pain of the moment. Then tells us that this is what God has been waiting for.
The fact is, we were created to have a relationship with our Father in heaven. And in this verse He tells us precisely how to do this, and where to start.
We start with come. This is an invitation we see over and over in Scripture. In Matthew, Jesus says “come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (11:28). Again in Matthew, He tells his disciples to “leave the children alone, and do not forbid them to come to Me” (19:14). In John, He tells us that “all that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (6:37). Even at the end of times, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come” (Revelation 22:17).
But this isn’t just a call to come. This is a call to come and participate. The Lord says to the Israelites through Jeremiah that we will call upon Him, and come, and pray to Him. We can’t start and end with come. We must stay. Continually coming to Him, and calling upon Him, and praying to Him.
And He Will Listen
The second part of verse 12 says that after we call upon the Lord and pray to Him, that He will listen to us. This indicates that there are times when God does not listen to our prayers; for instance, when our sin separates us from God.
In Romans 1, Paul explains that earlier Israelites practiced immorality and idolatry; as such, he says, “God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity” (v. 24). Isaiah also warns of this, exclaiming, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (59:2).
Even Peter brings this to the attention of the scattered remnants of Israel after Christ’s earthly departure and Great Commission; citing the Psalms, he quotes, “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (Psalm 34:15-16, qtd in 1 Peter 3:12).
But, all these same Scriptures demonstrate that when we follow God as we should, walking by faith with our hearts set on Him, He will hear us. What’s more, He promises that He will provide for us. As James says, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (5:16).
He Will Be Found
God immediately gives us one more command. Not only are we to call upon Him and come and pray to Him, but we are also to seek Him—and to seek Him with all [our] heart. The final verse in our study, Jeremiah 29:13—You will seek Me and you will find Me when you search for Me with all your heart—nearly echoes the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).
Again, we see this invitation from God, to come, to seek, to ask, to knock. God isn’t a master who desires control—or else he wouldn’t have given us free will. God Almighty is a compassionate, patient Father who desires us—our obedience, of course, but also our love and our devotion. He’s chosen us, but He wants us to choose Him. And that’s what’s so important to remember in all of our trials. That’s what’s so important in the book of Jeremiah.
Final Thoughts
God knew who we were and what we would do before He even created the world we live on. And He created us anyway. He even made provision for us to redeem us, planning to sacrifice Himself for our redemption. Then He established the Law to show us our desperate need of a Savior—and He came as that Savior, to die for us once and for all.
Every trial the early Israelites face, and every trial we face today, is a direct result of our own sinful, fallen nature, and the poor decisions we make therein. But God, who “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God [and] are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28), uses every trial to point us back to Him.
Today, I will thank God for every trial, every setback, and every disappointment or point of contention, because through these He “who began a good work” in me “will complete it” (Philippians 1:6), until I am “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).
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Emily is a Christian mother and blogger who lives in sunny Florida with her three children. She works full-time setting appointments at a home remodeling company and in her scarce free time she enjoys serving her fellow brothers and sisters in Christ however possible, and spending as much time in prayer, Bible reading and studying, and fellowship as possible. As a recovering addict, she has a heart for addiction ministry, and for creating things so she can give back to those who have need.