In this article, we’ll reflect on “hope for the doubter.”
Before delving into it, I would encourage you first to take a look at what we’ve studied previously:
The foundation for our reflection through this article comes out of Jeremiah 29:11-13,
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Possible Sources of Doubts
Time
Time can become a source of doubt. In the case of Jeremiah 29, the prophecy Jeremiah shares in this specific scripture, gives a sense of hope.
But, some people possibly struggled with the message because its fulfillment would happen 70 years from the time they received it.
That’s where time or the concept of waiting can trigger doubts. Waiting isn’t easy for everyone.
Imagine waiting for a call from your Doctor’s office about some lab tests. Even if it’s only for a day or a week, the anxiety of waiting may make this short time look like an eternity to you.
There’s fear and anxiety when it comes to waiting or anything that has to do with time, which can make you question your faith, and even God.
Distance
The people of Israel receiving this message (Jeremiah 29) aren’t in Jerusalem. They are in exile in Babylon, and so far away from their home.
They are in a new country living with new people, and eventually adjusting to new languages and values of life, which were completely counter to their Jewish tradition and faith.
All this combined with the concept of time can become a trigger to create doubts in us.
Consequently, it is so much easier to feel hopeless at times when you are taken away from the familiar life with no idea when to go back to your usual life.
When you think of distance, also, keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be physical. But, it could represent any place in life you’ve ever imagined being.
Go back a year, two years, ten years, or twenty years ago. Is today the kind of life you ever imagined having? Is this place in life where you wanted to be years ago?
That feeling may make you feel disconnected and misplaced. You feel like you are so far away from where you’ve always wanted to be.
This distance (physical, mental, emotional, etc.) can trigger doubts in you.
Loss of control
The people of Judah had lost control when Babylon took over them and their nation. The Babylonians destroyed the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and took stuff from the temple.
Imagine losing everything you held onto, which represented so much of your identity and heritage. In addition, someone takes you by force to a foreign country where they force you to do as they say.
Literally, you have no power and no control. It’s a situation whereby you may start questioning the value of your entire belief system.
In the case of the people of Jerusalem, they were tempted to question God and their faith in God even though their ways of life were the reason why they would find themselves in this situation.
The concept of losing control applies to us all today. Life is much bigger than all of us. What life throws at us can often be things, for which we never prepared. That’s proof we have no control as we may be tempted to think at times.
Think of the things you are unable to resolve. It could be an illness, an accident, or any changes in our society, and so forth.
Bottom line is that there are only a few things you and I can control. The rest of what happens to us and in us, we have no control.
How do we then find hope whenever we lose control?
First, understand that God holds your future in God’s hands. It sounds simple, but when going through tough times, it isn’t easy to do.
The reason you’ve got to do that comes from verse 11,
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
God is the only one who does not change. No one or nothing (including time and space) can change God.
What God has planned for you, God will make it happen, no matter what. And, whatever God plans for you is to give you a future and hope.
[bctt tweet=”Believing that God has a plan for you, no matter what you’re going through, gives you a new perspective about anything you face in life as well as how you can respond to it. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]
Next, know that God hears when you pray, and God always shows up in God’s timing.
Yes, God listens to you every time you pray. That’s what God is telling us today just as He told His people through Jeremiah,
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13.
[bctt tweet=”Because God hears us when we pray, God also shows up in God’s timing. God lets us find God when we seek God with all our hearts. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]
Finally, God restores us in God’s timing.
What God told the people in exile is the same thing God is saying to us all today,
I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. Jeremiah 29:14.
For the people of Israel, according to the prophet Jeremiah’s message, God would bring the people from exile back to Jerusalem, which would eventually happen after 70 years.
For us, today, depending on what we each need, God will restore us accordingly. So, do not doubt. Choose to believe and wait for God’s word to come to pass.
In Conclusion
Jeremiah 29 is a good piece of scripture to remind us of what God can do for us, no matter what we’re facing. It points out the truth that God has all the power to change times and circumstances, and use our everyday life’s events (good or bad) as building blocks to accomplish God’s plans. God’s plans are to give us a future and enable us to find hope again.
