Stolen Promises

Christians have the bad habit of isolating Bible verses from their appropriate context, and then claiming the verse as a promise God has given to them personally. In many cases, the promise gives tremendous comfort to us in the moment, but it’s been taken out of context so it’s a misuse of the Bible and the promise.

Jeremiah 29:11 is probably one of the most abused passages used to give comfort to a Christian in a difficult situation. If taken at face value, the verse is richly encouraging: “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

The difficulty with this particular passage, and many others that Christians claim, is that it is addressed to a specific group of people. This passage, when read in the larger context, is actually part of a letter written to a particular group of people. Indeed, at the top of the chapter we read these words: “These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Jeremiah 29:1).

My point is that regardless of how much better you feel from this verse, it is not your promise because God is talking about the exiles in Babylon. He is not talking about you personally reading it 2700 years later.

Is there something we can and should learn from this passage? Absolutely. The lesson for us comes from seeing how God dealt with Israel and learning what that says about God. Now, are there promises in the New Testament, specifically, that are clearly given to Christians in time of difficulty?

• Matthew 28:20, Jesus promised “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
• Matthew 6:26, He said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they.” The Father will take care of you. That’s encouraging.
• 1 Peter 5:5-7 is a passage that I have reflected on a lot of late: “‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
• Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
• Hebrews 4:15 and 2:18 describe Jesus, who “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” so “He is able to help those who are being tempted.”
• Hebrews 12:11, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

These are all passages that we can lay hold of and claim when we’re in a position of difficulty. But, of course, there’s a problem. Frequently, the person looking for a promise in the Bible does not want those verses that talk about going through difficulties. They want the verse that says, “I know the plans I have for you … plans for welfare and not for evil.” They want the promise that says God’s going to get me out of this trouble and make things nice and good.

The problem is that there is no such universal promise. There is no such promise for the Christian in the New Testament. Yes, we have a future and a hope, but hard times aren’t strange. They’re normal. We can trust God because He is working on behalf of His people for His purposes. The circumstances aren’t always easy, but He will strengthen us through the hard times and comfort us.

So don’t steal somebody else’s promise. Come to terms with the truth in the New Testament that, for the Christian, life on earth will bring various trials and turmoil that God has never promised to spare us from. He has promised His presence and His power in the midst of those difficulties to transform us into the image of Christ. And that’s a promise worth claiming.

—Greg Koukl, condensed