Plans in Exile: Trust, Obedience, and the Road of Hope

Summary:
Jeremiah 29:11 is not a shortcut to comfort. God spoke these words to a people far from home, with seventy years of waiting ahead of them. That long road between promise and fulfilment has marked my own journey, from seminary days to ministry, and now in this season of rebuilding in the UK. Through years of wrestling with trust and obedience, I have come to realise that grace is often found in waiting. Obedience makes room for God's promises to grow beyond what we imagine.

The Verse That Would Not Leave Me

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the most frequently quoted verses in Christian circles, but its original context is often overlooked. The words were spoken to a people in exile, homes lost, dreams on hold, and seventy long years ahead before restoration.

I first encountered this passage during my time in seminary, not long after my rebirth in 2012. By then, I had already begun learning that faith was not always neat. As I studied Scripture and later stepped into full-time ministry in 2015, this verse stayed with me—both inspiring and unsettling. God's promise is good, yes, but it is also long-term. The exile would last decades before deliverance came. From my earliest readings, I carried a cautious optimism, even scepticism, about what this promise really meant.

That tension has followed me into this new chapter in the UK. Here, obedience has been tested and refined. Here, God has rewarded faith in ways I could not have written for myself.

The Long Wrestle Before the Leap

For years, I wrestled with Jeremiah 29:11. My struggle was not with God, but with myself. The promise speaks of God's plans to bless, but Israel was called to seek Him with all their heart. That truth came close. I have known my own weakness. I have watched my zeal fade when fatigue or failure pressed in.

Often, I read this verse through the lens of my own limits, not God's. I trusted His strength, but doubted my ability to remain faithful long enough to see His promise. Years of ministry, challenges, and valleys shaped this caution. There were moments when obedience cost more than I thought I could give.

Then came 2025. My wife and I faced what was arguably the most difficult obedience test yet: I would take a leap of faith to the United Kingdom. It was an act that went against comfort, certainty, and logic. Yet beneath it all, I sensed God whispering the same truth I had wrestled with for years: "My plans are good, but you must walk with Me through the process."

The Setting of the Promise

Jeremiah 29 is a letter written to exiles in Babylon. God tells them to build houses, plant gardens, and seek the welfare of their new city. He assures them that after seventy years, He will bring them back. Then comes the famous line:

"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."

The first hearers were not waiting for a private miracle. They were living through a national correction. God's promise did not erase their exile. It gave it meaning. He was shaping His people in captivity, preparing their hearts for restoration.

Commentaries from GotQuestions and BibleHub concur: Jeremiah 29:11 is about finding hope in the midst of hardship, not escaping it. It assures us that God's purposes remain good, even when the path feels long or uncertain. That has become a living truth in my story.

Our Weakness and Christ's Sufficiency

My struggle with Jeremiah 29:11 has often come down to this. What if I fail? What if my inconsistency keeps me from the promise?

Through the years, I have come to see that this fear misses the heart of the gospel. The weight of fulfilment does not rest on my shoulders; it rests on Christ's. As Paul writes, "It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

Obedience matters, but it never stands alone. Grace meets us in every step. Sanctification is not a solo journey; it is God's power meeting our surrender. When I began to see this, Jeremiah's message shifted from cautious hope to quiet confidence. The God who promises also sustains.

Yet God works through process. He calls us to build, to plant, to endure, to keep seeking. Judah had to live faithfully in Babylon. We are called to live faithfully in our own places of waiting.

The Road of Resistance and Grace

Samuel's rebuke still cuts to the heart:
"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice." (1 Samuel 15:22)

Obedience is the truest test of faith. For me, it has been rare for it to be easy. There have been seasons when obedience meant moving forward through tears. Sometimes five steps of faith, then two steps back. At other times, it was two steps forward and four steps back.

Yet each stumble became a lesson. Obedience is not the absence of failure; it is the choice to keep turning back to God. Every return is a small act of faith. It keeps the heart soft and the spirit teachable.

In this new season in the UK, I have seen that obedience once again invites blessings. Not because of merit, but because grace meets those who keep saying yes.

Breakthrough and Revelation

After two challenging months abroad, marked by uncertainty and the ache of missing my family, I sensed God's hand at work. Every doubt was stilled. Out of nowhere, I received a two-bedroom flat that exceeded all my expectations.

It was not just accommodation. It was divine reassurance. It was as though the Lord said, "Now you understand what I have been teaching you all along—My promises are not delayed, they are prepared. Obedience positions you for them."

That moment brought years of wrestling into focus. My cautious hope in Jeremiah 29:11 became gratitude. God's promises are not delayed by distance or limited by circumstance. They unfold in a relationship. They grow as we trust His heart, even when the waiting is long.

Where Promise, Victory, and Obedience Meet

Jeremiah 29 reminds us that hope, holiness, and obedience are intertwined.

Promise anchors us in God's character. His plans are sure, even when unseen.
Victory comes through Christ, not self-effort. We overcome sin and fear through His life within us.
Obedience creates the space where grace works deeply. It is in saying yes—again and again—that we discover the "more grace" James spoke of.

The longer I walk with Jesus, the more I see that obedience and grace are not opposites. They are partners. When we obey, we move with the current of God's mercy. When we hesitate, His mercy waits and calls us back. Either way, His purpose moves forward.

A Reflective Close

This journey continues to refine and reshape me. From South Africa to the United Kingdom, Jeremiah 29:11 has walked with me. Once it was a verse of cautious hope. Now it is a testimony of proven faith.

With the Lord's help, I continue to obey, wait, and trust. The same God who carried Israel through exile is shaping a future and a hope here, one step of obedience at a time.

"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)

Jacques Munnik