Old sermon notes, a sketch book, and a time machine.

 

My latest Bible journal entry comes from Jeremiah 29:11 after I stumbled upon  some notes I found in my old sketch journal from a pastor’s sermon I heard almost 20 years ago.

‘For I know the plans I have for you, , says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ‘ -Jeremiah 29:11 

This is verse that gets often quoted, but yet really misunderstood.

As I dug deeper into my study, it amazed me how the message is so relevant today. 

So join me why don’t you in my time machine back to the year, 2001 on Sunday, January 7.  

Ever been at a crossroads in your life? When you knew you had to make a difficult decision, that would forever change the course of your life?  Well, that was me on this particular Sunday.  I was listening to the first sermon on the  first Sunday of the new year at Westside Oikos church in West LA. This is the church I attended while in medical school and where I became a new believer.  Soon I would have to make a decision about how I’d spend the summer between by first and second year of medical school as it would be my last summer break EVER.  On one hand, I had an offer to get paid to do research at a lab at UCLA.  If I do this, I’d  get to stay in the city,  where I was living at the time, making good money.  On the other hand, I had an opportunity to participate in this summer missions project that trained health professionals how to evangelize and integrate the Christian faith into patient care. This was located in Redlands, miles away from the city. This program required me to raise funds to support the mission. That’s right I had to beg for money in order for me to do this.  

I knew the first choice was the easy one, stay in the city to enjoy everything west LA had to offer, the beach, shops, good restaurants. Living on my own while on break from the stresses of school , independent , doing whatever I wanted.  I also knew that meant I would be tempted to take advantage every chance I got to go to the bars, underground clubs and summer raves.    

This sermon on this verse, helped me make that decision.  I chose the latter of course, and have no regrets. 

Now, I don’t remember everything from that sermon.  I  didn’t save my detailed notes.  All I had was this acrostic that I sketched out.   I do remember the pastor loved to use acrostics in his sermons.   

So I reflect back on it, did a bible study and filled in the blanks of what God is speaking to me today. 

Well as I stated before, this verse gets quoted a lot by Christians to give you all the bright good feels. Yet, there’s more to it. Just take a look at the acrostic.  Process, let God be God, Adjustments, Not going to be easy and Suck it up. Well that doesn’t sound good or feel too bright now, does it?  

So let’s hop back in our time machine and travel back even further to the final decades of the kingdom of southern Judah around 630 BC. 

Jeremiah was a prophet, not a bull frog. Ha! Couldn’t help it. 

Jeremiah was a prophet who preached in Jerusalem, a messenger of both God’s justice AND grace.  He was called to warn Israel of Babylon that would take His people into exile. Jeremiah would actually see this come to fruition and witness himself. He also accuses Israel’s leaders and priests who have become corrupt and caused a great social injustice to widows, orphans and immigrants.  God has punished his people for their disobedience to him. Jeremiah warns of God’s judgement but also gives a message of hope.  He reminds them of Moses promise after exile, that God would renew the covenant and transform Israel’s hearts.  Despite Israel’s hypocrisy, God will not let sin get the final word, his own faithfulness will bring about the fulfillment of His promises no matter what. 

So this particular verse comes from a letter from Jeremiah to the Israelites after they have already been exiled.  

God tells them to settle down and stay there in Babylon.  He tells them to plant gardens, marry and have children.  They are not going anywhere soon.  He says you’re going to be there awhile. You’re going to be struggling for 70 years. It is actually going to get worse before it gets better. 

God also tells them to help their oppressor. Pray for them, work for peace. 

He also says to reject the false teachings of those around them.  However, eventually God will bring them back.  He will give them a future and hope. 

So let’s travel back to the present day, the year 2020. 

Let’s take our notes from the pastors sermon in 2001 and see what we have. I can not help but see some similarities of that time and now in this covid pandemic. 

We definitely have an oppressor in the form of a virus, the social injustices we see around us, and whatever else that can go wrong in this crazy world.  We are all in a rush to get back to normal, to OUR plans, the way WE want it. But maybe God is telling us no. stay, live with this, pray for your oppressor, it might get worse before it gets better, work for peace, reject the false teachings.   Sound familiar? 

And so I look to the message from the pastor’s sermon  for guidance. 

Process-God has good plans for us but it  is a process and may not come instantly 

Let God be God-stop stressing and submit to His will for my life. 

Adjustments-We can all surely relate to this! We’ve all had to make adjustments in this time of covid and  there may be more unexpected bumps in the road, more cancellations, shut ins, distance learning. 

Not going to be easy- who said life was easy? ‘Its the hard that makes it great’ but seriously it is going to be uncomfortable. 

Suck it up! -I like to think this had a second part.  Suck it up and Give it up to God. It's ok to complain. This IS hard! But then we pray and take our complaints  up to God and and then move on.  As you read in the next verse, when you pray, GOD IS LISTENING! And if you look for him with your whole heart, a humble heart, with the right attitude, YOU WILL FIND HIM. 

And he will bring us home again! 

Looking back in 2001, I was really scared to make that choice.  It was not the ideal summer I had planned.  But God was telling me, he had great things in store for me.  Funny, later on this same year, I would meet my future husband, and a month later 9/11, and a month after that we got married. I guess you can say, God WAS already preparing me for something big.   

So this verse may sound all roses and cotton candy but really, by declaring this verse, one is really accepting God’s plan for their lives.  It may not be the way we'd like or how we planned it, but God has our best interest in His plan.

Today, dear Father, I will trust in your process and submit to your will for my life. This crazy covid pandemic has caused me, my family to really make some adjustments, adjustments that are not easy. Help us Lord, Help me adjust to your will.  Thank you for listening.  You are always there. Thank you Jesus