Devotional: Hope for the Future

Jeremiah 29:1-14

“‘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’” (Jer. 29:11, NASB).

I assisted a friend who was instructing people on how to get a job. Most of these people had some type of criminal record. Our job was to get these people to understand that the first thing that they needed to do was to admit to what was on their record. We used biblical passages that highlighted how the main character was able to overcome their past. The client’s goal should be to develop character traits and work ethics that they needed to obtain and maintain employment. Our program offered sixteen hours of training. There were potential employers who were willing to at least give them a job interview if they completed the program and followed the procedures they learned in the program.

Jeremiah 29:11 was a key verse that was used to encourage our clients. We knew that they had not enjoyed much success in life, and they would continue to face obstacles. Jeremiah 29:11 does not promise us that our past failures will be erased. It does not promise us that God will give us success without our enduring the consequences of our choices. In this passage the Israelites are captives, exiled in Babylon. They will be there for seventy years. This passage tells the exiles to make the best of a bad situation. Do not give up hope. When we have paid the consequences of our choices and turn to the Lord, He will answer us. God’s plans for us even when in captivity are for us to have a future and a hope. In the meantime we are to be preparing for that future and that hope.

Our father in heaven, thank you for being mindful of the difficult circumstances that we have to go through. We trust you and call upon your name, because our hope for a better day is in you. Amen!