Jesus Has Won the Future for Us
Thursday’s Verse:
From Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
“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.”
Jeremiah spoke those words to God’s people while they were in exile. They were discouraged. They were worried. They had been taken from their homes and forced to live in a land that wasn’t theirs. In their current situation, there was no reason to hope.
But God spoke to them not to condemn their feelings but to remind them that they were still grounded in something greater than their current reality.
When we come to this passage as Lutherans, we read it through the cross. God’s plans for us won’t always be easy or look like success.
In fact, His plan is Jesus Christ, who entered into our broken future and redeemed it through His pain, death, and resurrection. The hope that God offers us isn’t that everything will go perfectly from this day on. The hope we have is that our lives are held tightly in His hands of mercy.
This is important for us because too often when we think about the future we allow fear to creep in. We worry about things out of our control. We worry about what we may lose. We worry that we won’t be enough.
But verse 11 reminds us that our future isn’t based on how strong we can be. It’s not rooted in our best-laid plans or our faithfulness to you. Our future is based on your faithfulness alone.
Christ has secured our future. Sin is forgiven. Death has been defeated. So when we don’t know what to do in the days ahead, remember that our God has already won the future for us. His plans for us are GOOD because they are full of His grace.
Today, may we stop hoping in things we can see. Instead, let us hope in a Savior we can trust.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord God, when we start to fear what the future may hold, turn our eyes to Your word. Anchor our hope in what You’ve already done for us through Christ. Help us walk forward in these unknown days with confidence, knowing our life is in good hands. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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