And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Not everything is good, but God is working in all things for the good of those who love Him.
Jeremiah 29:11
Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most loved promises in the Bible. It was first written in a letter to people taken into exile in Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Said to people in exile: God’s thoughts toward you are peace and a future with hope.
KJVJeremiah 29:11 in context
8For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord. 10For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
The prophet who stayed with his people through the fall of Jerusalem and the exile.
What Jeremiah 29:11 means
The context matters, and it makes the verse stronger. The exiles wanted to hear they would go home soon. Instead God told them to build houses, plant gardens and pray for the city they were in, because the exile would last seventy years.
Inside that hard news comes this promise: God’s thoughts toward them were peace, not evil, and He would give them “an expected end” — a future and a hope. Verses 12-13 continue: “ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
For you, it means God’s good intentions are not cancelled by a long, hard season. The future is in His hands even when the present is not what you hoped.
Related verses
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Lean on God, not on your own understanding, and He will make your path clear.
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Do not stay in the past. God is doing a new thing, even in the wilderness.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God finishes what He starts. The good work in you will be completed.
Questions people ask
What does Jeremiah 29:11 mean?
That God has good intentions for His people, peace and a hopeful future, even in the middle of a long and painful season.
Who was Jeremiah 29:11 written to?
To the Jewish exiles in Babylon, in a letter from the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29:1).
Can Christians claim Jeremiah 29:11 today?
It was spoken to Israel, but it shows God’s character, which does not change. Romans 8:28 makes a similar promise to all who love God.