When God’s Plan Doesn’t Look Like a Plan

Introduction

Jeremiah 29:11–14 is one of the most quoted promises in Scripture—but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. God didn’t speak these words to people who were comfortable, blessed, or thriving. He spoke them to people who felt abandoned, broken, and hopeless.

This promise was born in pain.

And that’s why it still speaks so powerfully to us today.

In 2023, the Maui wildfires destroyed entire neighborhoods in Lahaina. One woman—whose story was widely reported—lost her home, her business, and nearly all her possessions in a single day. She said, “It felt like my whole life burned down. I didn’t know how to start again.”

For weeks she lived in a shelter, overwhelmed and grieving. But in that season of loss, she began volunteering to help other displaced families. That volunteer work connected her with a nonprofit that eventually hired her full‑time to coordinate relief efforts

Background of Jeremiah

Israel had once again turned away from God and rejected His commandments. God called them to repent, but they refused.

Because of their rebellion, God lifted His hand of protection. Babylon invaded, Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was torn down, and the educated and skilled were taken into exile.

In Babylon, the Israelites felt crushed. Their identity was shattered. Their hope was gone. They believed their story was over.

Into that despair, God sends a letter through Jeremiah—a letter of instruction, correction, and encouragement. A letter reminding them: Your situation is not the end. I still have a plan.

This is the emotional backdrop of Jeremiah 29:11.

Not comfort.

Not ease.

But captivity.

Main Point: God Has a Plan

That’s exactly what God was telling Israel through Jeremiah.

“You think this is the end—but I still have a plan.”

“You think you’re forgotten—but I’m working behind the scenes.”

“You think captivity is permanent—but restoration is already on My calendar.”

And the same is true for us.

Jeremiah 29:11–14 NIV

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. 14 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

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language Chapter 29

This is GOD’s Word on the subject: “As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

12  “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

13–14  “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” GOD’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—GOD’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it

God’s plan is present even when circumstances look hopeless.

For Israel, everything looked lost. They were exiled, displaced, and discouraged. But God speaks into their darkest moment and says, “I know the plans I have for you.”

Not “I’m trying to come up with something.”

Not “I hope this works out.”

But “I know.”

God’s plan includes prosperity—but not the way we often define it.

“Prosper” in Scripture is about wholeness, well‑being, spiritual flourishing, and God’s favor, not simply wealth.

God promises to grow us, strengthen us, and shape us—even in seasons we don’t understand.

1. Prosperity = Wholeness, Not Wealth

• The Hebrew word shalom means peace, completeness, well‑being, flourishing.

Same word that used in Isaiah 55:12 “12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

• God wasn’t promising wealth—He was promising healing and restoration.

2. Prosperity = God’s Presence in the Process

• Prosperity isn’t the absence of problems—it’s God with you in the middle of them.

• Strength, peace, and joy in hard seasons are signs of His prosperity.

3. Prosperity = Growth, Not Just Gain

• God told Israel to build, plant, and grow in Babylon, not after Babylon.

• Sometimes God prospers us by maturing us, stretching us, and deepening our faith.

4. Prosperity = God’s Purpose, Not Our Preference

• Israel wanted escape; God wanted transformation.

• Prosperity is God shaping us into who He created us to be, not giving us everything we want.

5. Prosperity = A Future Only God Could Write

• “Plans to give you hope and a future” means God is leading you into His future, not your version of it.

• Prosperity is walking into the future God designed—even when the path surprises you.

God’s plan includes protection.

He says His plans are “not to harm you.”

Even in discipline, God’s heart is never destruction—it’s restoration.

Psalm 46 “For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song. 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

God’s plan includes hope.

Hope is not wishful thinking.

Hope is the confident expectation that God is not finished.

God’s plan includes relationship.

Verses 12–13 shift from promise to invitation:

“Then you will call on Me…” — He plans to hear us, but we must call.

“You will seek Me…” — He plans to reveal Himself, but we must seek.

“You will find Me…” — He plans to be found, but we must pursue Him with our whole heart.

God’s plan is not just about our future—it’s about our fellowship with Him.

God’s plan includes a future—but we must follow.

He promises to bring them back, restore them, and lead them forward.

But restoration required obedience.

The same is true for us.

Closing

Family, if Jeremiah teaches us anything, it’s this:

Your circumstances do not get the final word—God does.

Israel thought their story was over.

That woman in Maui thought her future had burned to the ground.

And maybe someone here today feels the same way.

Maybe you’re standing in the ashes of something you didn’t expect.

Maybe you’re carrying disappointment you didn’t choose.

Maybe you’re walking through a season that feels like exile—

a place you never wanted to be, a place you don’t understand.

But hear the Word of the Lord:

“I know the plans I have for you.”

Not “I’m trying to figure it out.”

Not “I hope something works out.”

But “I know.”

God knows the plan.

God holds the plan.

God is the plan.

And He invites us into it.

• Call on Me, He says.

• Seek Me, He says.

• Follow Me, He says.

Just like that woman in Maui, God can take what looks like loss and turn it into direction.

He can take what feels like the end and make it the beginning.

He can take the ashes of your life and breathe purpose into them again.

So today, if you feel stuck… call on Him.

If you feel lost… seek Him.

If you feel unsure of the future… follow Him.

Because the God who made this promise in Babylon

is the same God who keeps His promise here

and in your home

and in your heart

and in your story.

Your exile is not your ending.

Your ashes are not your identity.

Your situation is not your sentence.

God still has a plan.

And the best part is—

He’s not finished with you yet.