Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite Scripture verses. As I was born on 29 November, I quickly claimed it as my birthday verse. It held special meaning for me. Who wouldn’t be excited about a good future? One translation explicitly states that it isn’t only a good future, but it’s a future I hope for! What more could I ask? 
I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for (Jeremiah 29:11).

I had held on to this verse since I had been born again almost 40 years ago. I prayed, confessed it, and truly believed that I would have the future I hoped for. 

Disappointment

As the years passed, I realized that my expectations were never met. I didn’t get what I had hoped or desired. I definitely didn’t plan or expect a future in which my husband would suffer a stroke and be disabled because of it. I didn’t plan to continue working past retirement age, not out of choice, but out of necessity. We don’t have medical coverage, and my husband’s medical needs are very expensive.

I fought disappointment and disillusionment, but eventually I turned to God to ask Him why my expectations had not been met. Why didn’t I experience the good future I had hoped to enjoy?

Biblical characters

God is so faithful. He showed me that the Bible is full of characters who had futures they didn’t hope or plan for. Paul didn’t plan to be shipwrecked, flogged, stoned, or imprisoned. He wanted to visit Rome, but he didn’t think it would be as a guest of the state. He didn’t plan on being in stocks. Yet, he rejoiced because despite his incarceration, the Gospel kept on spreading.

Stephen didn’t envision a future in which he would be stoned to death. John the Baptist didn’t plan or dream of being beheaded. Character after character faced difficulties, problems, challenges, and persecution. This is hardly a good future, at least not in my understanding. So, what is the story with Jeremiah 29:11? Surely, God does not lie. 

Context matters

God reminded me to look at the historical setting and read the verse in its proper context. Firstly, this was not a message to an individual but to a nation. This was a message to Israel, who found themselves in captivity and exiled from their country. God had promised that they would return after 70 years. He would keep this promise. This verse is not a blanket promise to every believer. It was a specific promise to Israel during a specific time in their history.

What does it mean in my life then? Looking at this Scripture in connection with other passages in the Bible, it is clear that God is in control. I can trust Him for being in control. Yes, He had a plan and purpose for creating me. I can trust that He will accomplish His will. Everything that God does is for His honor and glory. The future He planned will be accomplished. As I trust Him, He will take care of me, but in accordance with His plans and purposes, not according to my ideas or my plans.

The whole idea is that I should trust Him and not chase the future I want. Peter, Paul, Stephen, and Old Testament characters like Joseph and Daniel didn’t seek their own way or their own comfort. Their only focus was doing God’s will. They didn’t have comfortable lives. They faced trouble and persecution. Some were tortured. God never promised that our lives would be free from trouble. In all our troubles, we can trust that He will never leave or forsake us. 

God’s character

We have the Bible in order to know God better and trust His character. At the beginning of 2024, God told me not to focus on promises but on His character. I didn’t understand it at the time, but as time passed, it became clearer. I may misappropriate God’s Word and claim promises never intended for me. This means that I create false hope. If I focus on God’s character, I won’t make that mistake. He is the great I Am, and He never changes.

It doesn’t mean that God will not give me a specific Word in a specific situation. He does, and He has often done this. For instance, a few years ago we had someone in our lives who did his utmost to humiliate and harass us. One afternoon, after he and an agent visited our home, God promised me that we would never see “those Egyptians” again (Exodus 14:13). I could hardly believe it, yet God kept His Word. We never saw him again and have since lost contact with him. My husband still struggles to forgive him, but I have fully forgiven him. God took care of the situation.

I have since learned, the hard way, that I should be careful not to see every promise of God as a blanket promise to all Christians. I should read and understand God’s Word within its historical context. It was difficult to accept, but it’s preferable to disappointment from false expectations.

I still have a few pet Scripture verses that I’m revisiting. I have to let go of false expectations. Do you have favorite Scripture verses that you have held on to?