📜 Jeremiah 29:11 | "I know the plans I have for you.."

Happy Monday, everyone!

This week, we’re doing something different - memorizing a verse you might know well and have probably seen everywhere: on NBA sneakers, home décor, and graduation cards.

We’re memorizing Jeremiah 29:11!

I love this verse, but maybe not for the same reasons most people do.

This week, we’ll take a closer look at what this verse really means.

I want to challenge the way it’s often used and reframe it within its original context.

And by the end of the week, you’ll know it by heart and love it even more than before!

In today’s email…

• 📕 What to know about the book of Jeremiah

• 🙏 A reading and prayer to set up the week

• 🎵 A song to help you memorize Jeremiah 29:11

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MEMORIZE 🧠 

For 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.

Jeremiah 29:11

CONTEXT 📕 

Author & Context: The book of Jeremiah is a collection of messages from the prophet Jeremiah, compiled by his scribe, Baruch (Jeremiah 36).

The events take place before, during, and after the Babylonian exile (586-539 BC) — one of the most devastating periods in Israel’s history.

Key Themes

• Israel’s injustice & God’s judgment

• God’s promise not to abandon His people

• The coming of a new covenant through the Messiah

Structure of Jeremiah

• Chapters 1-25 → Warnings of judgment

• Chapters 26-45 → Stories of disaster & hope

• Chapters 46-52 → Judgment on Babylon & Israel’s exile

The Context of Jeremiah 29

At this point, Israel is in exile — a punishment from God for their disobedience.

Jeremiah confronts a false prophet, Hananiah, who boldly claims that God will free them from Babylon in two years (spoiler: He won’t).

Instead, God gives them a different message. In Jeremiah 29:7, He commands them:

This was not what the Israelites wanted to hear!

They were hoping for an escape, not a command to settle down and bless their captors.

And then came the biggest shock of all. In Jeremiah 29:10, God says:

Seventy years. An entire generation would never see home again.

Can you even imagine?

That must have been devastating.

But this is the setup for Jeremiah 29:11—a promise meant for a people in exile, not a quick-fix guarantee of success.

And when we understand that the verse becomes even more powerful.

More on that tomorrow…

APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃‍♂️ 

Read: Take time today to read through Jeremiah 29.

And once you’ve finished, prepare your heart in prayer:

Heavenly Father, of course you know the plans you have for me. I know you will ultimately give a glorious future to those who put their trust in you.

But as I walk out my life on this earth, help me remember that the best growth comes from perseverance through trials. Not from escaping them entirely.

As I learn perseverance, let me be surprised by joy. Amen. 🙏 

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SONG OF THE WEEK 🎵 

I’m a dad to two little boys, and I love finding songs we can sing together on the way to school. This week, let’s listen to Jeremiah 29:11-13 by The Corner Room.

*Fair warning — this little jam will be stuck in your head all day!

Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music | Listen on YouTube

ANSWER KEY ✅ 

For 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.

Jeremiah 29:11