God's Plans to Prosper and Not to Harm

11 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.

Jeremiah 29:11

I have recently heard this verse, repeatedly, at a set of weekend retreats, called Lamplighters, that I served on. It has really touched my heart.

Now, do I believe that this verse is saying that God is going to give me a ton of money? No!

Prospering does not only refer to money. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary it also means, "to become strong and flourishing". We can become strong and flourish in our health, in our friendships, in our outlook on life and most of all in our relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

The most important part of this verse, to me, is that He does not have plans to harm us but to give us hope and a future. There are many times that we don't believe that. There are times in our lives when things aren't going well in our relationships or our businesses and we wonder what God is doing to us and why He is allowing these things to happen.

I found a great commentary on this verse and the surrounding ones at Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible.

To put it into my own words...We cannot know God's mind. We may think we need this certain "thing" or a certain amount of money but God can see the future. He can see what having this "thing" might do to us. Or maybe He agrees that this would be a good "thing" for us but it's not the right time. We have to be patient and trust His plans for our lives.

We just have to remember that God has plans for us, "plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 paraphrased)