Break in Case of Emergency

Right now, if we were to hand you a perfectly wrapped gift, what would you do with it?

Would you survey the surface–honing in on the crisp wrapping paper edges and the silky soft bow? Would you shake the box, vying for a guess of what’s inside like a kid on Christmas morning?

We doubt you’d be content with seeing the container the gift comes in, but wouldn’t you rather unravel the bow, peel back the packaging and see what was really inside?

What if we do this same thing with scripture? It may decorate our nightstands, hold sacred shelf space or come with us every Sunday morning and yet, we may not know what is really inside. Let’s change that.

Summary

A Guide to Get Started

As we open scripture today, we need to identify some guardrails that will help us traverse the text. It’s these guardrails that not only grow our comprehension of what we read, but help us be captivated by it.

1. Ask, “What does this text really mean?”

Esther 4:14 may inspire you to trust that God made you for the moment you are in, but it was spoken to Esther from Mordecai, amidst great unrest against the Jewish people.

Joshua 1:9 may instill courage into your heart as you walk into the interview where you need to perform your best, but it was an encouragement from the Lord, for Joshua as he was given the mantle to lead God’s people to inherit the land promised to them.

Romans 8:28 may remind you that God is at work in the midst of it all, but it was written to Jew and Gentile believers at the Church in Rome to help them understand the true Gospel.

Ruth 1:16 may bind your heart in loyalty to another, but it was said by a widowed girl named Ruth, placing a fervent trust in her mother in law in the midst of great heart ache.

While encouraging to the many different trials we may face, these verses were not written to us in our specific circumstances. The truth is that scripture is applicable to all people in all circumstances, regardless of socioeconomic class, geographical location or status, but the text only means one thing. And the specific reason it was written needs to inform how we can apply it to our lives.

Look to our second guardrail.

2. Ask “How can I apply what I read?”

While these scriptures weren’t written to us, they were still written for us. Think back to what we read in 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and Hebrews 4:12.

With the scripture you are reading in mind, use the acronym below to apply what you have read:

• S – Sin to Avoid

• P – Prayer to Repeat

• E – Example to Follow

• C – Command to Obey

• S – Scripture to Memorize

Is there a

sin

to avoid? Is there a

prayer

to repeat? Is there an

example

to follow? Is there a

command

to obey? Is there

scripture

to memorize? The Word that we behold is for us to know and apply.

With these guardrails in mind, let’s take a look at our first passage together.

Don’t Forget the Plan

“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.”

Jeremiah 29:11

When we open chapter 29:1, Jeremiah is writing to exiles with a message from the Lord. He says, “These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem 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.”

At face value, this chapter begins with a problem: God’s people are in exile. Yet, as we continue the text, we see a promise come into view. Read verses 11-14:

“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. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

What do we see? There’s a problem, but God has a plan.

The truth is: God’s plans don’t start when things are good and end when they go south.

The diagnosis that you didn’t see coming. The “no” you never expected. The break up that left you reeling. The friend who walked away. Even in the pain of these moments, you’re not alone. After all, the exile Jeremiah writes about was as much a part of God's plan as the restoration was.

How do we know that? We look at the entire story.

The same exile we read about in Jeremiah is written in the largely prophetic book of Daniel. Look at what it says in Daniel 9, verses 2-4:

“In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.”

What do we see here? God’s people would be exiles in Babylon for 70 years. Away from the lives they once knew, they found themselves displaced in a foreign land. But remember the promise we read earlier?

“I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:14)

Those 70 years were not a waste, they would be used by God to turn His people back to Himself.

Will God really work this all for good?

Is there really a plan for me?

What do I do when I don’t know it?

How do I respond when nothing is going as it should?

We trust His promises to come.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Romans 8:28-30

Be encouraged: God works all things together for the good of those who are in Christ. Take these truths to heart:

• God is at work.

• The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, and covers us in prayer.

• God didn’t spare anything for us, including His own son, and who He gave up for us.

• God won’t allow anything to separate us from Him.

The promise we can cling to in light of it all is a secure and promised eternity with Jesus.

So what do we learn from Jeremiah 29:11? The hardship that you are in the middle of when you break the glass for an emergency may actually be what God will use to bring you closer to himself, for you to see more of his fullness and to feel his comfort. He has a plan, and it includes you.

1. Heath emphasized the importance of understanding both the interpretation and application of the scripture. Can you provide an example where you might have encountered a difference between the two in your own reading or experience?

2. What do you think about the idea that the text has one meaning but multiple applications? How does this change your approach to reading biblical texts?

3. How does knowing that it was addressed to the exiles in Babylon shape the way you perceive the verse?

4. Today touches on the character of God as shown through Jeremiah and other scriptures. What aspects of God’s character are highlighted, and how do they resonate with you personally?