Anchored in Change

Would you join me in thanking the BeTween band for leading us in worship.

Happy new year, BeTween. | Before you sit down, share with the person next to you: one thing you’re looking forward to, or dreading, in the new year. |

So, here’s a list of somethings I’m dreading.

I’m dreading taking down my Christmas decorations; still in denial guys, my tree is still up.

I’m dreading waking up earlier when school reopens tomorrow - because when school starts, my wife will have to leave the house earlier for work and I’ll have to singlehandedly make sure my son, Micah wakes up in time for his school.

But you know, all this aside and in all honesty, one thing I have been REALLY dreading this year | is Ps Ben leaving to serve in another church. In case you didn’t know, Ps Ben, our ex-BTWN pastor, has been posted to another church. And for me, it’s maybe feels like when you’re in the same class with your friend for 4 years - you do project together, study together, have good times together - and then suddenly he moves to a different school. I know I’m really going to miss serving with a friend.

The truth of the matter is | - I’m dreading change.

Some of us like change. Some of us hate it. But change almost always unsettles us, because there are so many unknowns. And it’s normal, when so many things are changing, to feel anxious rather than anchored.

Today, many of us are facing some kind of change: PSLE year, a new school, or for Sec 3s, moving from BeTween to YM. |

Today’s scripture was written to God’s people as they were going through big change - 70 years of exile in a foreign land. But in this letter, God shows His people exactly how to stay anchored when everything around them is changing. But before I go further, let’s pray.

So today's scripture text - Jeremiah 29:11-13:

11 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. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

This is the Word of the LORD (thanks be to God).

Guys, God’s people did not first hear this verse at a happy graduation service like this. They heard it when their whole world had fallen apart. | Their city had been attacked. | The temple - where they met God - was burned. | Their king was defeated. | And thousands of them had been dragged off to Babylon for 70 years - no home, no control, no clear future. This was God’s discipline for them after years of repeated sin. Some false teachers tried to comfort the people - “it’ll only be for two years max” they said. But God sent Jeremiah to tell them the truth: “It will be a long, hard season, but God has not abandoned you. And then right there in that mess, God says, “I already know the plans I have for you…” |

Would you write this down: 1. When everything around you changes, God’s plan doesn’t.

Guys, Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most popular verses in the Bible. Popular because it’s so inspirational.. But it’s also one of the most misused. Many people read it like this: |

God has plans to prosper me, so he will make my plans work

God has plans to prosper me, so my life should be comfortable and smooth

God has plans to prosper me, so this verse is all about me and making me feel good.

But, when we go through change, our plans don’t always work, life isn’t always smooth, and we don’t always feel good. So what does God actually mean? |

The word for ‘plans’ here doesn’t just mean ‘God’s exact roadmap for your life’ - which school you go to, your PSLE score, which CCA you join. Of course, God knows all those things. But here, “plan” is closer to God’s careful designs. His thought-out intentions. So when God says, “I know the plans I have for you,” He’s really saying, “I know what’s in my heart for you.” His heart is not random or last-minute; it is steady, and it does not change even when everything else does. |

And the word “prosper” is shalom. It doesn’t mean “you’ll be rich and comfortable. Shalom means: A life put back together under God’s rule, Wholeness on the inside, Peace even when things outside are messy, Right relationship with God and with His people. Actually the ‘you’ here is you-plural (you-all), so God is not just talking about his plans for one person, he is saying I know my plans for all my people. And this plan is for their shalom, not just one person’s success. |

So what - you may ask? For you, sitting here as P6s, Sec 1s, 2s and 3s in a season of change, this means: God’s plans for you are bigger and deeper than this one school year, this one change, or this one set of results. God cares about your new classes, your teachers, your friends, your CCAs, your PSLE and exams. But they are not the whole story of His plan for you; they are chapters in the middle of the book, not the whole story. God’s heart for you is bigger: to use these seasons of change to grow your character, your faith, and your love for Him and others—even if this year doesn’t turn out exactly how you hoped |

So even when everything changes, God’s plan - His heart for your wholeness and future in Him - doesn’t change. |

Write this down: 2. In every ‘what-if’, run to an ‘even-if’ God.

In times of change, we carry many “what-ifs”.

For God's people, it might have sounded something like this:

What if we never go home?

What if we’re abandoned here?

What if God doesn't care about us anymore?

For us: maybe our what-if’s sound something like this.

What if I fail PSLE or exams?

What if I don’t fit into my new class or CCA?

What if I disappoint my parents?

What if YM is awkward and no one talks to me? |

Into all these “what‑ifs”, God speaks an “even‑if” promise:

“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.” (Jer 29:12-13)

Even if you are still far from home, even if life is still hard, even if everything around you has changed - when you call, God hears you; when you seek Him, you will find Him.

Into every what-if, God gives His even-if presence: “I have not abandoned you. I will be with you.”

In every “what‑if” of change, run to an “even‑if” God whose presence with you never changes. |

Finally, write this down: 3. Those who seek wholeheartedly will find God

Scripture says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

In times of change, God does not just say “sit back and chill”; He invites His people to look for Him wholeheartedly. “All your heart” means | an undivided inner life—your thoughts, desires, fears, choices, and attention pointed toward God, not split between Him and everything else.

These words.. “Call on me, come, pray to me, seek me..” “I will hear you” “You will find me”... This is a picture of an active relationship, not a passive one.

A passive relationship is like a friend who only texts you when they need answers, or someone who never talks unless you talk to them first. Wholehearted seeking is different, it means you keep calling, coming, praying, and listening to God—not just when you are desperate or in trouble, but in the ordinary days too.

But here's the honest truth: none of us naturally have this kind of undivided heart. | Wholehearted seeking is only possible because God first gives us a new heart and stirs in us the desire to seek Him. So what I’m asking you today is not “try harder to seek God,” but “come to Jesus, admit your distracted heart, and ask Him to give you this new heart.”

Guys, this verse is not just an invitation; it is a promise: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” God is not hiding to make life difficult. He promises that as we actively seek Him, He is also searching for us. That’s why those who seek God wholeheartedly will find Him, even in seasons of change. |

Conclusion:

“What are you looking forward to, or dreading in the new year?

For me, I dread change. Change makes me worried, anxious, and distracted. It pulls my focus away from God and onto all the ‘what-ifs’ in my head. Maybe that’s you too.

But no matter what changes are coming, there a few things that never change: |

God’s heart for you - His plans for you don't change

The relationship He invites you into - His ‘even-if’ presence, run to it; it never changes

The way you find Him - you find him when you actively seek Him with all your heart |

Big idea: In times of change, cling to an unchanging God.

Sec 3s, as you stand here on the cusp of entering YM, hear this from me as your pastoral staff and brother in christ: I’m proud of you. Over these 4 years, you have wrestled with faith, you’ve tried to live lives of visible faith in school and at home, you’ve said, ‘I want to walk the Jesus Way,’. Watching you grow has been one of my great joys of serving in BeTween.

As you step into this new season, remember: this passage doesn’t promise that everything will be smooth or easy. It doesn’t say you’ll always get the result you want, the friends you want, or the plan you want. But it does promise you this:

In every season, God has not let you go, and if you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him.

So here is the call for all of us:

In every season of change, cling to this unchanging God—His heart for you, His invitation to active relationship, and His promise that all who seek Him wholeheartedly will find Him.

Let us pray.