'bloom where planted' - how to succeed

Jeremiah 29.5-13

“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.” (vs. 11)

Are you familiar with that verse? It has been widely marketed for a few years now. There are plaques, paperweights, bracelets, stained glass ornaments…each proclaiming “For 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.”

I really like that verse. It has been a tremendous reminder to so many of us of the potential we each have in the ‘eternal’ scheme of things.

What concerns me is how little attention is given to the ‘if-then’ part of this equation. The ‘if’ is found in verses 5 – 7. There is a warning in verses 8 – 9; a promise in verse 10; and then the ‘then’ of verse 11… “For 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.”

To get to the ‘then’ of the promise one first has to consider the preliminary requirements.

• Become established – permanency
• Work toward sufficiency – productivity
• Extend your family’s influence in the community – responsibility
• Seek the peace and prosperity of the place where you are, not where you want to be

Lots of people have idealized and romanticized a life somewhere else, with different circumstances and different people. I believe that God was speaking through Jeremiah a truth for all generations - make the best future you can, beginning where you are…the proverbial ‘make lemonade from the lemons’ of your life. Then, in due time He can take you where you want to be, if you still want to go.

You can’t get to ‘then’ without dealing with the ‘if.’

Too many Christians have succumbed to becoming victims rather than attacking life, and life is passing them by.