Unpack Your Bags
Today’s Scripture
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11
When Jeremiah’s letter reached Babylon, other prophets were telling the exiles they’d be home in a couple of years. After being marched across the desert, the exiles badly wanted that to be true. God’s message through Jeremiah was different. He told them to build houses, plant gardens, marry off their kids and pray for the city that had hauled them there, because they’d be staying seventy years. That’s most of a lifetime, and the line people print on graduation cards sits right in the middle of that letter: “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD.
If you’re three years into a job you took “for now,” you know what it’s like to keep your bags by the door. The exiles had to stop living that way and start planting. God’s good plans were already growing in dirt they never would have chosen. He knew where His people were every one of those years, and He knows exactly where you are, cardboard boxes and all.
MOMENT OF PRAYER
Good God, I’ll be honest with You. I’ve been living with my bags packed, waiting for this stretch to end before I really show up for it. Thank You that Your plans for me didn’t stop the day life took me somewhere I didn’t expect to be. Help me plant something good right where I am, even when I can’t see how it turns out, and teach me to pray for the people around me instead of just counting the days. You know the plans You have for me, and today that’s enough.
In Jesus’ beautiful name, Amen.
STAND FIRM TODAY
Pick one thing you’ve been putting off “until this chapter is over” and do it today. It could be hanging the picture that’s been leaning against the wall since you moved in, or finally learning the name of the coworker you’ve been nodding at for a year. Then take a minute to pray for one person in the place you didn’t choose, the same way God told the exiles to pray for Babylon.
And if you’d like someone standing in prayer with you, share your request on our Prayer Wall.
