When Jeremiah 29:11 Feels Hard to Believe
An honest reflection on grief, chronic illness, and choosing to trust God's promises in the midst of pain.
Lately i’ve been struggling with the verse Jeremiah 29:11. You know, the one that says: “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.” and I think it’s because my heart has been in such a bitter place lately.
My best friend passed away just a few months ago to chronic illness and I watched how life was just taken away from her. How did God use his plans for her life to prosper her and not to harm her if she never got to see 24 or get married or have children like she wanted?
And Jeremiah 29:11 was the verse she chose to share with everyone at her celebration of life which I thought was beautiful because it showed how truly she trusted God with her story, even if she knew it may end in death.
But I really struggle with Jeremiah 29:11 because I too struggle deeply with chronic illness and I’ve had just about everything taken away from me. I’ve lost my job, my business, my dreams, my health and my desires. I feel like a shell of who I once was. And I want to always find some way to be an encouragement, but I also want to be real in the things that I write here in this space. When I hurt, I want to share my hurt because I know there are others out there who are hurting too. I know I’m not alone.
I believe in the truth of the Bible and because God made a promise to prosper me and not to harm me, I’m going to hold on to that promise even when it feels like that promise is lost.
If you also struggle to put your trust in God or struggle to believe in Jeremiah 29:11, I hope you’ll hope with me and know that God works all things together for the good of those he’s called and we are those people. I know it’s hard to trust. but maybe, just maybe we can trust together.
Thank you for this honest reflection. It's comforting to know that even in the wrestling, God’s promises still hold true. This really spoke to a place I’ve been sitting in lately.
The Book of Job reminds us that there is a "cosmic conflict" going on behind the scenes that we usually know nothing about. Often we wonder why God allows something, and we question or doubt God’s goodness, without seeing the full picture. The Book of Job teaches us to trust God under all circumstances. We must trust God, not only WHEN we do not understand, but BECAUSE we do not understand. The psalmist tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30). If God’s ways are “perfect,” then we can trust that whatever He does—and whatever He allows—is also perfect. This may not seem possible to us, but our minds are not God’s mind. It is true that we can’t expect to understand His mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Nevertheless, our responsibility to God is to obey Him, to trust Him, and to submit to His will, whether we understand it or not.
I pray for you, sister 🙏🏻✝️🕯