BACKING INTO THE FUTURE

“I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

I was praying for a friend a few weeks ago and the Lord strongly impressed me that this verse from Jeremiah had special meaning for him at this time in his life. The Lord asked me to share it with him, which I did.

Several days later, as I thought more about this verse, I realized it has a strong word of encouragement for each of us. Here are some things I discovered as I studied and meditated on this word of the Lord.

“I know the plans I have for you. Plans to . . . plans to . . .”

The word plans, used three times in this verse, comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to make plans, to reckon, or to think.” All the meanings of this word are found within the context of “creating a new idea.” The first part of this verse could be rendered: “I know the new ideas I have for you.”

God’s plans are never cast in concrete. They are flexible, adjusting to our lives as our world changes around us. Sometimes our poor choices in life cause God to have to adjust the paths He had prepared for us. This is a powerful expression of His grace and His unfailing love for His children. The goal God has established for your life never changes but the plans are often new every day. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV).

“Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.”

Prosper is the Hebrew word “shalom” that means completeness, soundness, health, prosperity (success).

In past years the American/Western Church has diluted the true value of the word prosper to mean primarily material wealth. While hucksters on Christian TV and from segments of the “faith movement” have sold this error to the public, they have been wrong to over-emphasize one part of the message and virtually ignore the rest. When the Word says we will prosper, it is not primarily focused on finances but is talking about every part of our life. God is promising us that He will make us complete and sound in our personal life, in our family life, and in every part of our life. And, yes, that does mean that He will bless our work and our business, and our needs will be met.

“Plans to give you a future”

The word future in the Hebrew means “afterward, backwards or after part.” How can the word future mean that?

To understand this part of the promise, we must understand the Hebrew concept of time. The people of Jeremiah’s day saw time as being like a man rowing a boat. In a rowboat, the person doing the rowing sits facing the back and the area behind the boat. The rower then can see where he has been, but where the boat is going is behind him so that he literally is backing into where he is going. And this is the message of this promise “We cannot see our future; we see our past but we have the promise of God and He is covering our back (our future).”

God must set the course we take since only He can see “behind” us. We see the past because the past is in front of our eyes. As we back into our future we must trust our Guide, as we cannot see where we are going but He can!

This gives whole new meaning to the verse, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21, ESV). 

“Plans to give you hope and a future.”

Hope means to wait with eager/confident expectation.

In the original language the word hope means, “A confident expectation based on the certainty of God’s Word, His promises.” Hope is never inferior to faith but is an extension of faith. Faith is the present possession of grace; hope is the confidence in grace’s future accomplishments. In other words, when we use the word “hope” we are saying, “As God has worked in my life in the past, I know He will work in the future.”

Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. We wait confidently because we trust in Him. He will do for us in the future as He has done in the past. God is faithful!

We may not be able to see our future but as we “back into it” we do so with an unshakeable confidence in the One who is behind us!