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Do you ever see a bible verse so often, printed on mugs, plastered on peoples instagram feeds or posted on Facebook, it almost loses its power?
Jeremiah 29:11 was one of those for me.
It’s one of the few bible verses where I remember the first time it really spoke to me. I was probably 15, and it was the word I needed at that exact moment in time. But that was years ago. And honestly, I’d become desensitized to it.
I think God looks for those moments.
Those places in our hearts were a truth from His word has become something we’ve begun to overlook. Maybe it’s overuse or misuse of the verse, or because the life you’ve lived seems to disagree with the promise in His word. Whatever the reason I think He looks for those opportunities to shine a new light on a verse we’ve known for years.
For I know the plans I have for you… It’s a great promise, but after a year of incredible change in our lives, it seemed, distant.
Almost one year ago exactly my wife and I went on a walk and uttered words, only weeks prior, we would never have dreamt would come out of our mouths. After 8 years in St. Louis, and without any lead-up, we both felt very strongly that we were being called to a new city, a new state, to move closer to her family. To pickup our lives, say goodbye to a church that was home, to friends that were closer than family, and a life-group that absolutely gave us life.
Only weeks before this early-July conversation, we’d said goodbye to two very good friends who were embarking on their own relocation journey. And on the way home from sending them off, I can distinctly remember telling my wife how grateful I was that we had no plans to move anywhere. We had no plans.
For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and give you hope… in the following 8 weeks, all that changed. A walk through the neighborhood quickly became conversations with our pastors, trips to Lowes for moving supplies, and 3 months later we said our own goodbyes.
For nearly the last year, we’ve lived in a new city, a new state, a new place we’re leaning to call home.
I’d be lying if I said it had been easy.
It’s not.
We’ve been here almost 10 months and we’ve still not found our circle. We’ve been praying for the place we fit, the place we’ll call home, and the new friends we’ll make…. but it hasn’t happened yet.
Yes, the Lord has been incredibly faithful, but we’ve felt… alone.
It wasn’t until last week, in my bible-reading, that I realized something about Jeremiah 29:11.
Something I’ve missed for decades.
Jeremiah 29:11 isn’t written for just anyone. That chapter is a letter written to a specific people group. The prophet Jeremiah wrote to the children of Israel who had been carried into exile.
Merriam Webster defines exile as the state or a period of forced absence from one’s country or home. We found ourselves strangers in a strange land, alone, exiles. And suddenly this entire portion of scripture made so much more sense.
v4: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile…. The Lord Himself, the God of Angel Armies, says to those WHOM HE SENT into exile.
Are you feeling alone? Have the last 6 months or a year completely rocked your world? Is everything different this year? If you look back at July 2025, did you know you’d be where you’re currently at? Or has everything shifted?
Maybe, just maybe, He’s sent you on this path.
v5: Build houses, settle down, live in them, plant gardens and enjoy their fruit. Get married, have babies, multiply, and do not decrease. Did we want to move to Oklahoma? No. But we were called to do so. So we’re not just moving here, we’re leaning in. We’re learning what it looks like to make this new place, home.
v7: Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Seek the welfare, the goodness, the betterment of the city that He has carried us into. Our prayers look different now. We’re praying for Oklahoma. We’re looking for small businesses to support. We’re praying for the education system, the industry, its churches and leaders and government. We’re actively seeking the goodness of the place the Lord sent us to. Because He tells us to. And because when the city prospers, we prosper.
And while all those things are good, and worthwhile, and beautiful in their own way, it was the simple reality that this verse was written originally to a people who were far from home, far from what they knew, and were clinging to the goodness of the God who had sent them there, that has had the biggest impact.
No one wants to talk about moving to a place they never wanted to go. No one wants to think that one of the greatest promises in the bible wasn’t originally written for graduation cards, but to those in exile. But that’s the reality of this promise.
Is Oklahoma our home?
Not yet. But it’s getting there.
v11: “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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
The promise in chapter 29 covers a period of 70 years. His promise to bring his children back from exile isn’t instant, there is a long timeline attached, but He didn’t leave His children without a plan, a purpose, and a promise. And while we still find ourselves in Oklahoma, and while we don’t know what the timeline looks like or what the future holds, He hasn’t left us alone either. He’s given us:
The plan: Build houses, move in, live where He has planted us.
The purpose: Pursue the betterment of our new community. Pray for it. Seek its blessing for its blessing is our blessing.
The promise: He still has plans for us. And He still has plans for you.
It may not look like what you thought, but that’s ok. Because it is His plan. And He is trustworthy.
We fear the storms of life.
The real ones.
Trust me. I know. I live in tornado alley.
Each spring my wife, our dogs, and I spend a few afternoons or evenings in our basement next to the weather radio as sirens go off.
Two years ago, in early December, we found ourselves huddling in a theater basement with a few hundred other folks as a tornadic supercell moved through the region. We were there for a Christmas concert. The concert still went on, and it was all the more beautiful because of the shared experience…. but the band has yet to return. (Looking at you, Over the Rhine…). I digress.
Storms are scary. Both the real ones and the other storms life brings. You know the ones. The ones that can be even less predicable. Not tornadoes or supercells, but job changes, relationship issues, or the illness of a loved one.
A storm comes. An unexpected phone call with an unwelcomed diagnosis, a pink slip, word that someone you love is moving, a senseless loss, or the ramifications of our bad decisions…. all storms. All basically unpredictable, all with the power to bring pain.
And we suddenly feel unmoored. Tossed by the unexpected winds. Unsure which way is up and wondering if it’d be easier to simply turn tail and run than turn into the storm and face the winds headlong.
The things we put our faith in, we rely upon for happiness and peace, all are prone change or break. None are eternal.
Just a year ago, my wife and I were navigating a cancer scare (I wrote about it here). We got through it. Yes, it was scary. Yes, there was fear. But, we got to the other side of it. And she is ok. But for whatever reason, in spite of how often I am carried through the storms, I still fear them.
I’m realizing I shouldn’t be afraid. Yes, storms are powerful and dangerous things. Yes. They are scary.
But if I truly believe in the God of the Bible, then I must believe He is more powerful than the storms. And, I must also believe He knew the storm was coming even when I didn’t. The storm may have caught me by surprise, He wasn’t surprised.
And, if the Bible shows us anything, it shows us that storms are to be expected. They’re part of life.
So maybe you’re facing some storms tonight. Maybe the holidays are overshadowed by something unexpected lurking around the edges. Maybe someone is missing. Maybe you’re living someplace new and you’ve not found “home” yet. Or maybe you live at home, but it doesn’t feel like it. Or maybe you’re facing something huge that left you breathless, whatever it is….
The God of the Bible is bigger than the storm you’re facing.
Sometimes He calms the storms that surround us, and sometimes He gets in the boat with us and says…
“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. We’ll get through this together.”
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Each year my wife and I make all these grandiose plans to do ALL THE CHRISTMAS THINGS. And I promise myself I’ll have every gift purchased and in the mail much earlier than I ever do.
And each year, that never happens.
Maybe it’s because I’m not a kid anymore. Maybe it’s because the last few months of this year had a lot of big, adult things to deal with. Maybe it’s because of the state of the world. Maybe it’s all of the above.
But this year more than any other, it felt like it was September, I sneezed, and Christmas was somehow only a few days away.
One of those big things we faced a few weeks ago was a possible cancer diagnosis. Erin had a routine checkup and one hormone level came back very elevated. So elevated that her Doctor asked her to come in the very next day for additional testing.
The few days waiting for the results, and finally hearing the news that all was OK and that she was fine, were disquieted days.
If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure how to feel. I’m still not. I had to be brave for her. I had to be present, which was one of the hardest parts of this. I couldn’t just ignore the scary feelings. I couldn’t just pretend there were no hard parts. I had to sit in the mess and face some hard emotions and scary questions..
Last weekend, I finally had some time to decompress and begin processing all that had gone on over the last few weeks. I ended up stumbling upon my all time favorite Christmas TV Special, The Little Drummer Boy. It’s always been my favorite, but somehow I’ve not found it on TV in probably 20 years, which makes this all the more special. Because while I remember the overarching story (as I’m sure you do), I had totally forgotten the details.
Spoiler alert — if you’d prefer to watch it and not have the story spoiled, skip to the bottom.
Our little drummer boy (Aaron) had a great childhood. His parents loved him tremendously and he cared greatly for the animals on their little farm. His parents gifted him a little drum and out of the abundance of love in that gift, anytime the little boy played his little drum, the animals would dance.
Then it gets dark.
Thieves break in and burn the farm to the ground. They kill his father. And just before his mother is murdered, she hands him the little lamb and his drum and tells him to run.
Like I said, dark.
What was once a carefree, cared for little boy becomes a jaded, wounded and broken young man who finds himself leading his few remaining animals (including the little lamb) through the desert trying to survive. But Aaron still plays his drums, and the animals still dance.
It was the dancing animals that piqued the interest of a Ben Haramed, traveling entertainer/con-man. Ben immediately desires the dancing animals and essentially kidnaps Aaron and forces him to perform. Throughout their journeys they cross paths with the three Wise Men who, in need of a camel, inquire about buying Aaron’s camel. Ben Haramed, ever interested in getting rich, sees the predicament of the Wise Men and without telling the Wise Men of his greed, sell a camel he doesn’t own…. giving Aaron only a pittance of the money earned.
Our little drummer boy is able to break free and he, his little lamb and donkey then give chase, trying to find the Wise Men in an attempt to free their camel.
They finally catch up to the Wise Men in Bethlehem. Where, during the the crowds and commotion of the shepherds coming to see the newborn king and the excitement brought to the little town of Bethlehem because of the arrival of these Wise Men, the little lamb gets trampled and injured severely.
The Little Drummer Boy is heartbroken. He knows his most precious possession is is gravely wounded, and he knows he’s unable to do anything to fix it. But he has hope, for the Wise Men may know how to save his little lamb.
So the Little Drummer Boy pushes his way through the crowds, searching for and finally finding one of the Wise Men. He begs for help. The Wise Man looks at the little lamb and knows he’s unable to do anything, for the lamb is too gravely wounded. The Little Drummer Boy exclaims “But I don’t understand, you are a king?!“
And the Wise Man responds and says, “A mortal king only…. but there is a King among Kings who would save your little friend”.
The Little Drummer Boy doesn’t understand and the Wise Man tells him he doesn’t need to understand. But to just go to the babe.
Our Little Drummer Boy lays down his lamb, approaches the new born king, and worships. And he plays his drum.
I’d forgotten that part of the story. Of course I knew the song. But over time I’d forgotten the story and I filled in those gaps with assumptions. I assumed the little boy wanted to worship, I assumed he wanted to bring something to the newborn King. But it wasn’t that at all. It wasn’t that the Little Drummer Boy wanted to bring a gift to the Christ because he was the Christ, it wasn’t that he’d journeyed to Bethlehem to give the honor due…
No, his story was simpler, more human. Our Little Drummer Boy had a need he knew he could never fulfill.
It was that need, that love for his little lamb, that drove him to seek out the Wise Men. And it was the Wise Men who pointed him to Christ.
And it was Christ who had what our Little Drummer Boy needed. What I needed.
Healing for his little lamb, and healing for his heart.
You can think about a lot during your commute home. Especially if that commute takes you through a $3 billion (yes, billion) construction zone. And if that commute includes 4 disabled vehicles blocking one of two open lanes.
I thought about a lot. I worried about a lot. I wondered when the drive would end and if this was what hell was like.
But mostly, I worried.
I worried about finances, about our future, about making good decisions. I worried about Christmas and family and all the other things I couldn’t fix.
I drove, and I worried. And as I got ready for bed this evening, I realized how wrong I was.
My wife isn’t feeling well. And as we were saying goodnight yesterday evening, she asked me to read to her. So I did. And I read:
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29
I worried. For nearly 2 hours today I worried. And He’s already taken care of it.
I may make mistakes, I may not be perfect. I may face more long commutes. I may not have all the answers. But I am not alone. I am perfectly loved by a perfect Father.
And in that, I can rest.
FindingTheCourageToDream.com 