High school and college graduations – they’re here again! Congratulations to the class of 2020! Here you are, concluding such a significant life chapter. We rejoice with you, and we all regret the things you missed in the final stretch of your senior year.
Though COVID-19 has drastically altered this year’s graduation experience, I imagine one constant will remain: card-sending and gift-giving. For Christians, this is a season to encourage young people we know and love to seek the Lord as they make decisions. What a great desire and opportunity! In that endeavor, there are several Scripture passages that find their way onto a plethora of cards, coffee cups, and journal covers.
One of them is always striking to me. Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the thoughts that I think (the plans that I have) for you, saith the LORD, thoughts (plans) of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Yes, God has thoughts and plans of peace for His people, and that should be encouraging to the eighteen- or twenty-two-year-old tasked with making life decisions. I just can’t help but notice the irony of placing this verse in a context of congratulatory cards.
Its context in Jeremiah is prophecy of judgment. After descent into persistent idolatry, Judah has been razed by Babylon, and the survivors carried captive into their enemy’s country. Jeremiah tells them, “Settle in, far from home. Seek the prosperity of your oppressors’ city. I have placed you there. You will stay in Babylonian captivity for seventy years.”
And THEN we get to verse 11 and following. “I have good plans for you, after this nightmare of judgment is over. When you return to Me, I will again prosper you as I have promised. You broke your side of the covenant, but I always keep mine.”
We strip this verse of its power when we rip it out of context. This is a verse exalting the unwavering covenant faithfulness of God to His perpetually unfaithful people. Are there implications about God’s character that apply to graduates making life decisions? Sure.
If you are a Christian, even if you make all the wrong decisions and totally wreck your life as the Israelites did (which, of course, we hope and pray and expect you won’t), God will always be faithful to His promises. He will keep you. He will never let you go. You will not be destroyed. He will finish the work He started in you, and one day you will be made perfect in His presence. He will renew all things and give you a final home in His eternal kingdom, where you will remain with unending joy.
What a great thought for young people! Seek the Lord, and He will be found. Rest in His providence, always guiding and guarding you. Wherever you end up, love and serve whoever is around you. Labor for the peace and prosperity of others, and rest in the covenant faithfulness of God. You will have peace, because He keeps His promises.