“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 hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14
“You will seek me and you will find me if you seek me with all your heart.” There’s a promise there. God can and will be found by you. I don’t know what your expectations were walking into this study, reading this book, doing this thing, but friends, if you seek him, you will find him. You will not walk away disappointed.
But what do we about his plans? What do we do about our plans? You see, God tells us he has plans and then he spends a few verses teaching his people how to be a part of them by actively trusting him. But I don’t want to stand before you and tell you in a cliche way, “trust God. He has good plans.” I want you to know my story, warts and all. See, because I, too, have tried to trust myself. I, too, have let myself down. But there’s hope. There’s good. There’s another option, one that will not disappoint because everything God does is meant for good.
Our God speaks. We can’t say that God doesn’t speak if our Bibles are closed. But if they’re open, we’ll not only hear from God, we’ll also find them and we’ll find his promises and we’ll find that they’re true. Even the famous ones, the Jeremiah 29:13. 29:11 is the really famous one, but there’s a sweet promise two verses later, but 29:11 is famous for good reason. It’s the, “for I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Of course, we love that one, but the scripture continues and God continues to speak.
In fact, the next few verses is God’s invitation for us to not just know that he has plans, but to actively trust him. Verse 12, he says this, “then you will call upon me and you will come and pray to me and God says, I will listen to you.” Verse 13, “you will seek me and you will find me if you seek me with all your heart.” God can and will be found by you.
I don’t know what your expectations are, but I have a good promise for you all. God can and will be found when you search for him with all your heart. And when we find him, we’ll find everything we need. So what else? What do we do? I love that the verse, this section even starts with him saying, I do know the plans, but then what he does is he reminds us of who he is and then he makes this radical invitation for us to what? To trust him with the plans. But I don’t want to be someone that stands before you and tells you in some cliche way, “trust God, he has good plans.”
Meant for Good is a power-packed, biblical look at the truth that you really can trust God’s plan for your life—no matter what your life looks like right now. Dynamic Bible teacher Megan Fate Marshman will help you discover how to stop discounting yourself from a hopeful future, start living in active dependence on God, and find your way to the perfect plan He has for you in this six-session video Bible study.
With authenticity and revelatory insights into the character of Jesus, Megan shares an engaging and fresh look at the core themes within the well-loved scripture of Jeremiah 29:11-14. Through winsome and inspiring stories, Meant for Good will show you how to trust God in your daily life, and more importantly, how to trust God’s definition of good above your own.
In this six-session video Bible study you will discover:
- The deeper truth behind Jeremiah 29:11-14 and gain profound perspective into trusting God in new ways.
- That your not-enoughness is exactly enough to God, and that in fact, you have everything you need to take that first step into the life God has for you.
- How to stop counting yourself out, because Jesus never has. God is up to something really good, and He’s inviting you to join Him.
- How to hear and respond to God’s voice, and intentionally grow a personal, intimate relationship with Him.
- How to defeat anxiety, trust God with all you’re carrying and worrying about, and experience a life of freedom in relying on God’s perfect control.
Want to dive deeper into the Meant for Good message? Check out the Study Guide and other resources on ChurchSource.com: https://bit.ly/2Zd0Kqf
MEGAN FATE MARSHMAN delights in sharing God’s transformational love with others as she speaks at churches, conferences, and university chapels around the world. She is a teaching pastor for Willow Creek Community Church, leads the women’s ministry at Arbor Road Church, and serves as director of women’s ministries at Hume Lake Christian Camps. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two boys.