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“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.
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
— *Jeremiah 29:11–13 (ESV)*
The central theme of this song is the declared intention of God toward His covenant people: *plans for welfare, not evil; a future and a hope; and a call to wholehearted seeking that brings answered prayer.*
We must begin here: not with our feelings, not with our circumstances, not with religious tradition, but with what God Himself says. The Lord does not say, “I guess I have plans,” or “I might have plans.” He says, “I know the plans I have for you.” There is certainty in God, even when there is confusion in us.
This passage is not just a vague encouragement. It is a covenant declaration, given in one of Israel’s darkest seasons. When the outward situation contradicted every word of promise, God spoke of plans, welfare, hope, future, prayer, seeking, and finding. That is why this is so powerful for believers seeking deliverance, restoration, or direction. It reveals how God thinks, how God plans, and how God responds to a heart that turns toward Him.
The song takes these phrases and turns them into confession. When we sing what God has said, we align ourselves with His purpose and resist the lies of the enemy.
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These words are written in a letter. Jeremiah 29 is not a private devotional thought; it is an official prophetic message from the Lord to a broken, displaced people.
### Who is speaking?
The speaker is the Lord Himself, using Jeremiah as His mouthpiece:
> “These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles…” (Jeremiah 29:1)
Jeremiah is in Jerusalem. The recipients are in Babylon—exiles, deported by King Nebuchadnezzar after the judgment of God fell on Judah for persistent idolatry, injustice, and covenant-breaking.
### To whom is God speaking?
This word is addressed 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” (v. 1).
These are not people enjoying prosperity. They are uprooted, humiliated, surrounded by a pagan environment, facing uncertainty about their future. Many of them would have been tempted to despair, to anger, or to listen to false prophets promising immediate escape.
### What was the situation?
False prophets were telling the exiles: “You will be back soon. This will be short. God will break Babylon quickly.” But Jeremiah’s letter says something shocking:
> “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.
> Take wives and have sons and daughters… seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile…” (Jeremiah 29:5–7)
Then:
> “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you…” (v. 10)
Seventy years. That means most of the original exiles would die in Babylon. Yet, in the middle of that hard word, comes verse 11:
> “For I know the plans I have for you…”
Notice the contrast:
These words are not cheap comfort. They are given in a context of judgment, exile, and waiting. They teach us that God’s good plans often operate through seasons that do not feel good at all. But those seasons are not the final word.
Verse 12 and 13 show the *relational* goal of this entire process:
> “Then you will call upon me… and I will listen to you… You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Exile is not just punishment. It is a severe mercy designed to restore wholeheartedness in God’s people.
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Let us look at two key Hebrew terms, because they unlock the depth of this promise.
### 1) “Plans” — *machashavot* (מַחֲשָׁבוֹת)
“Plans” in Jeremiah 29:11 is the Hebrew word *machashavot*.
So the Lord is literally saying: “I myself know the thoughts, the designs, the strategies that I am thinking toward you.”
This is important. God’s thoughts are not random reactions. They are intentional designs. Psalm 40:5 says:
> “You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you!”
God is not guessing what to do with your life. He is not revising His plan every time you fail. He has eternal, settled intentions, devised in His own wisdom. When you sing, “For I know the plans I have for you,” you are agreeing that *His* thoughts and strategies are higher than yours (Isaiah 55:8–9).
### 2) “Welfare / Prosper” — *shalom* (שָׁלוֹם)
“Welfare” or “prosper” in Jeremiah 29:11 is the famous Hebrew word *shalom*.
*Shalom* is not a shallow word. It does not mean simply “having money” or “absence of conflict.” It means:
So when God says, “plans for *shalom* and not for evil,” He is saying: “My designs for you are for wholeness, restoration, harmony under My rule; not for calamity, ruin, or moral evil.”
This is why it is wrong to limit Jeremiah 29:11 to financial success or a smooth life. *Shalom* is much deeper. It is Romans 5:1:
> “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace (*eirēnē*, Greek equivalent of *shalom*) with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And it is 1 Thessalonians 5:23:
> “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely…”
God’s plan is to bring you into covenant *shalom*—spirit, soul, and body, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
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Let us walk through the lyrics, tying them to the fuller witness of Scripture.
### A. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…”
Immediately, we are confronted with the issue of authority. Who has the right to define your future? The Lord does.
“Declares the Lord” in Hebrew is a prophetic formula: *Ne’um YHWH*—“oracle of YHWH.” It signals that this is not Jeremiah’s opinion; it is God’s own self-revelation.
Isaiah 46:9–10 echoes this:
> “I am God, and there is no other…
> declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’”
The song keeps putting this phrase on your lips: “declares the Lord… the Lord declares.” This is vital in spiritual warfare. Satan works through lies—accusations about God, about you, about your future. Revelation 12:10 calls him “the accuser of our brothers.”
You overcome him, according to Revelation 12:11, “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of [your] testimony.” When you *declare* what the Lord has declared, you are wielding the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). You are shifting your agreement—from the enemy’s accusations to God’s proclamation.
### B. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you / plans for welfare and not for evil”
We’ve seen that “prosper/welfare” is *shalom*. The opposite word here is “evil” — *ra‘* (רַע), which can mean:
In context, Israel was experiencing *ra‘*—disaster and adversity—because of their sin. But God says: My ultimate design for you is not *ra‘* but *shalom*.
This addresses two errors:
1. Presumption: thinking God will always prevent hardship.
2. Despair: thinking hardship proves God’s ultimate intention is evil.
Hebrews 12:6 says:
> “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
Discipline may feel like adversity, but it is an expression of love, aimed at restoration, not destruction. When the song repeats, “not to harm you… not for evil,” it is pushing back against a common lie: “God is against me. God is trying to crush me.”
Romans 8:31–32 counters that lie:
> “If God is for us, who can be against us?
> He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,
> how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”
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