Reflections on Jeremiah 29—Part 3

Continuing this series on God's letter to His exiled people in Babylon, recorded in Jeremiah 29. In the first post, we considered the original context of this passage, which is often disregarded despite the popular love for verses 11-13. The series is considering five things we learn about God's good plan for us from Jeremiah's letter to the exiles.

The first was this: God's good plan is for His people.

And here is the second: God's good plan involves redemptive discipline.

When we think of God doing us good, we don't often think of trial and difficulty. And yet what we learn from Jeremiah 29:1-14 is that God uses discipline for our good. Sometimes this discipline is God's loving response to sin that He wants us to turn from. Other times His discipline is like a coach who pushes an athlete to work harder so that he or she can perform at a higher level. In either case, God's discipline is redemptive—it is for our good.

Think about the circumstances of the exiles who received this letter. Because of their sin, they had been torn from the Promised Land God had given them. Now they were stranded in a pagan, foreign country. They've had to start their lives over from scratch. This is a real trial and hardship. And yet this wasn't an accident that God was powerless to stop. It was God's doing.

Look at verse 4—It says, "to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon."

God sent them into exile. He sent Babylon to punish them. He took them away from all they knew and held dear. And then in verse 10 he informs them that they will be there for 70 years. Later in the chapter we learn that false prophets had been promising that God would get them home in just a few years. But God speaks through Jeremiah and says, "You're here for 70 years." This is not welcome news. This is hard news. It's not what they want. They don't understand how it could be good. And yet God says in verse 11, I know the plans I have for you...and they're for your good.

Here's what we need to see—the trials, the pain, the difficulty we encounter in this life are not separate from God's good plans for our life—they are a vital part of it. God is working something in your life and heart that would not happen apart from the trial He has allowed you to face.

That job you didn't get. That relationship you haven't found yet. Your proud, contentious co-worker. Your difficult roommate. Your sickness, your financial problems.

Hebrews tells us that God disciplines those He loves. In Hebrews 12:11 it says, "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Have you ever talked to a Christian who was facing a serious challenge and yet they said, "This is the hardest thing I've faced, and yet it the best thing that's ever happened to me...because I know God better than I did before"? What are they saying? They are people who have learned that God can use difficulty to accomplish his good purposes in us.

To be continued...