Sunday’s sermon is from Jeremiah 29:11, a well-known, much-loved promise: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.”
But the context is the key. This promise was contained in a letter written by Jeremiah to refugees and exiles in Babylon, telling them to make the best of their situation (see Jeremiah 29:5-7). Here’s an excert from the message. For the whole sermon, click here.
The other day I read a quotation from Martha Washington, our nation’s first First Lady. She said: “I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have . . . learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”
Sometimes there is nothing you can do to change your circumstances. Maybe at some point they’ll change, but only in time. For now, all you can do is to make the most of it, to do the best you can, to rejoice in the Lord and to keep on going. Do the best you can where you are right now. Don’t give up. Don’t spend years wishing that something had or had not have happened. Don’t be consumed by things you cannot change. Just settle down and do the best you possibly can where you are. That’s God’s advice in Jeremiah 29.