Jeremiah 29:11 NIV: 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.
It’s graduation time at our house. Our oldest will walk the stage this Sunday to graduate from High School and be off to study in Nashville, TN, this fall. Contrasting emotions of pride, excitement, and grief for the impending launch into adulthood flood me. She’s ready to fly and succeed, but that doesn’t take away how much we will miss her daily presence.
This verse and the accompanying art piece are my tribute to her this week. I claim it’s a promise over her life and am comforted by its truth. I love the word used here for plans, because the Hebrew word implies artistic design and imagination in the plans. This isn’t some boring and rigid blueprint God has mapped out, but a creative and expressive purpose for us.
Included in this intention are plans to prosper us. This word is not what you think! The Hebrew word is shalom, meaning peace, completeness, and contentment. This isn’t about having money or success, but a plan for life to be whole and without evil. That doesn’t mean harm won’t befall us, but when it does, it doesn’t originate from God. God desires to set forth a future that stretches before us with endless possibilities and, most of all, hope.
We should not take the word hope lightly. Hope differs from a whim or a wish, for hope encompasses a confident expectation that something good is coming. I cling to this hope for our daughter and anticipate with confidence, only goodness for her.
As I worked on this piece, I placed things from Tess’s past and current life in the art. But the focus is on what lies ahead. The door opens, and God leads her into an exciting future. I trust that no matter the circumstances, the hardships, and challenges, He will ultimately lead her into a hopeful future of shalom.
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