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This week’s Abide comes from the passage in the Our Daily Bread devotional for Monday 20 May, which is Jeremiah 29.

Have you ever experienced times when you longed for yesterday? When a difficult circumstance arises, we can tend to want to return back to the way things were before landing in the mess we find ourselves in today.

Often, we can look at other people’s lives and reminisce on times of the past. Perhaps when we enjoyed our freedom without kids, our uni days without reporting to a full-time job, and even the times we lived with our parents and didn’t have to pay any bills.

Or, we recall childhood memories that filled us with joy. Simpler times. “Those were the good old days,” we often say.

This is exactly how the Israelites felt in Jeremiah 29, longing for the days that once were, before they were exiled.

Today, we’ll be examining the meaning of Jeremiah 29 and how it applies to us today. When we stop to understand the context of any Bible passage, it will keep us from just reading into the passage without thinking about what God originally intended for it to mean.

Let’s take a look at Jeremiah 29:10-11.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. 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.”

For historical context, this passage addresses a moment in time when many of God’s people were living exiled in Babylon, and Jeremiah writes a letter to encourage them with what the Lord was doing.

The Israelites wanted to go back to their home because it was a place known to them, however, they were shut out and settled in enemy territory for their actions. Endless darkness is what they felt. Their situation was bleak and seemed to be without hope.

They were longing for the good old days to return. However, God was preparing them for the future. For He still had plans for them, regardless of what they had done to betray Him and whether or not they deserved it. God was providing them hope.

They just needed to hold onto this hope and call upon the Lord for His guidance.

The often quoted, “‘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,’” is a famous encouragement from the Bible, but often misinterpreted without context.

With the Israelites’ situation in mind, we can reflect on this entire passage being an incredible and trustworthy example that God speaks of hope and a future to those who feel hopeless.

Although this letter is written for a certain group of people, during a very specific time, we can still learn from the truths it holds today.

In a different way for you and I, within our own unique circumstances, we can hold onto the hope we have through Christ who strengthens us in times of darkness, when we feel shut out and lost.

This entire passage is an example that when we keep longing for the past and the way things were, we can often miss out on the present and how God is working to bring hope and His plans for the future.

God is working in your life, even when you cannot see it. This Monday’s Our Daily Bread devotional ends with the line, “don’t miss out on what God is doing right now. He will fulfil His promises.”

Just as much as God was making plans to fulfil His promises for the exiled, He is fulfilling His own promises to you, specific to your own life circumstances today.

Let’s spend some time reflecting on the present and the future to come. Remember through Jesus Christ, there is hope and a future prepared for us.