Then we move into verses 12 and 13, which contain the responsibilities we must follow through on if we are to expect this prosperity of peace to last in our lives. God did not just say He had a plan and that was it. His plan is always about His glory not our comfort. He is infinitely more concerned about our relationship with Him than our convenience in this world. So what happens when we find the prosperity of peace we so desperately want? What do we need to do to maintain it? Verse 12 says that we must call on God and pray to Him. The secret to Jeremiah 29:11 is not just that God has a plan for us. It is that He is the plan! We often seek the wrong things in this life and often times the church does not help. Forget temporal riches that fade and rust. That have no value beyond the brief time they are here. Where are we placing our eternal value?
Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. - Matthew 6: 19-21 (NLT)
We are often lacking peace because our heart is not valuing the right thing. We often are deep in the valley because we treasure things that bring us no lasting peace. I say all the time that God us not hard to find. He does not hide and He does not play games. The problem is that we often approach Him with split priorities. Like earlier when we spoke about asking if God wants to prosper us materially. If that is the question on your heart then the answer I am afraid is no. That brings us to the final responsibility found in verse 13. We will find God when we seek Him with all of our heart. God does not want half hearted Christians. Christians who raise their hands on Sundays and raise hell the rest of the week. Please, I am not talking about perfection. Of these I am the least. I am just a wretch writing about a God who saves wretches. The sad reality however is that we often turn to God in our valley because we had turned away from Him on the mountaintop. We often turn to Him but fail to understand the contract we are in with Him. We fail to understand the promises He has made to us. He has the plan beloved. He always fulfills His promises. That plan however is not the prosperity you heard about on TBN. It has nothing to do with money and everything to do with peace. That peace is found in a deepening of our relationship with Him. He does not want half of our heart seeking Him. He wants it all.
That is the great secret of Jeremiah 29:11. It has a surrounding context that shows the scope of the promises and depth of our responsibilities. It should be in the top ten searched verses because it contains great comfort for those who think their valley has grown too deep. God has a plan for you. It is a plan to prosper you with the transcendental peace that only God can provide. It is found and maintained in deepening our relationship with Him. In dropping our half-heartedness and truly seeking Him. It is found in finally understanding the secret that He is our prosperity.
Reverend Anthony Wade - December 17, 2013
