09 Aug God’s Promises from the Backside

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile .”

Jeremiah 29:10-14

I hopped on a bus and headed off to run an errand. Not long after the bus left the terminal, a wicked rainstorm started and continued to pour as it approached my stop. Not wanting to get drenched, I stayed on the bus until it got to the college.

I got off and decided to walk around the campus bit before heading back to run my errand. As I wandered the halls, it dawned on me that I started my journalism degree thirty years ago this fall.

I wheeled by the journalism lab. The memories of my time in that room were strong. I learned my craft in that room. My love for words grew deeper. I worked for hours on the college newspaper.

I looked up and noticed a sign above the door. It was no longer the journalism lab. The sign read “Leadership conference room.” I looked at that sign for a long moment and realized that what had started in that room is now being fulfilled. I had gone from a young writer to an author and a leader.

I imagined the Lord stood in that journalism lab and knowingly nodded as he watched me learn my craft. He knew what I’d do with it. The four books, published devotionals, and articles would be read as far away as New Zealand. I’d eventually get a degree in Leadership and Ethics and use my writing skills to lead not only people to Jesus but also guide churches in their ministries to people living with disabilities. And now I’m studying for my master’s in theology.

My mind quickly went through Scripture. Psalm 139:16 says, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Jeremiah says that God called him before he was born. (Jeremiah 1:5)

There is Jeremiah 29:11. If I’d known the verse back in 1993, I probably would have leaned on it just as most people do today. Of course, the Lord knew my future! But its context makes my story even more powerful. See if you can relate to this.

Jeremiah 29 is warning Israel that it was about to leave its homeland. While they’re away, the people are to grow and prosper. (V 5-6) Life is still going to happen. There will be good and bad days, but that doesn’t mean that the Lord is not with you.

I might not have been in exile when I was a journalism student and 70 years was unimaginable for a 22 years old, but God was at work. Verse 10 could bewritten, “When your education is complete, I will come to you and fulfill my promises to you.” The Lord knew his plans for me even as I was learning my trade.

Verse twelve gives me chills. God knew that I would come to him and ask for a mission. He would whisper in my ear and tell me that I was going to be involved with disability ministry. The thought that I’d be working with people who have disabilities would have horrified me. Then again, I was already writing about my own disability, so my future endeavors may not be as far off after all.

As I sought out the Lord in the following years, I learned how to listen to God’s voice and follow his instructions. I worked on my writing skills and began to be published. I sought out my friend Mary Jane and was introduced to my colleagues in disability ministry. I accomplished what was unimaginable 30 years ago.

I don’t write these things to brag and pat myself on the back. I write this to remind myself that the Lord gets the glory. Because if the Lord did all of this for me in the past, what will he do in the future?

What about you? What verse can you look on and recall how the Lord fulfilled it? Do you see his fingerprints on your story? If you’re like me, you can look back and see how God orchestrated all the events of your life to bring you to a place of peace and satisfaction.