​HOW TO WALK IN SO MUCH MORE FOR 2025

INTRODUCTION
 
So on New Year’s Eve, I was thinking about the coming year and I was drawn to another “2025” that we have in the Scriptures – 2 Chronicles 20:25. So I believe that this is a Word for us on this New Year – that the LORD wants to bring us into SO MUCH in 2025.
 
This Word is certainly consistent with the LORD’s heart throughout Scripture as He is most definitely a God of increase (Psalm 115:14) and He always gives us hope for our future. But the problem is that when it comes to so many of us, we don’t seem to always find the fulfillment of these Words from the LORD.
 
Yes, far too many Christians are just wandering around in their life, never realizing their purpose nor having a vision for their life. Saints, living in this wandering and aimless state is actually a product of the curse of the law, which we are redeemed from according to Galatians 3:13.
 
Friends, the Lord wants us to know what our purpose is and wants our lives to be full of vision and focus as we press forward in fulfilling our destiny and dreams. He doesn’t want us to live lives of uncertainty and searching around blindly for what our heart is looking for. No! Having no direction and vision is a curse! God wants us to walk with clear purpose into the plans He has for us! Amen?
 
As I’ve considered this truth, I was drawn to one of our most loved verses, Jeremiah 29:11. In this beloved verse of so many, we have God’s heart concerning the plans He has for us. It says, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
 
THE THOUGHTS HE THINKS
 
First of all, I want you to notice that God is actually thinking about you and I … Did you know this – that the Lord actually thinks about us? Glory to God!
 
We tend to spend more time talking about our own thought life and how we are to keep our minds set on Him, but did you know that God practices what He preaches? For example, He told us to set our minds on things above, right? (see Colossians 3:2) Well, He also does this, but He sets His mind on things below (i.e. you and me)!  Praise the Lord!
 
Psalm 139:17-18 says, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand…” Wow! Now that is a lot of thoughts! And when David wrote this, he was referring to just the thoughts that God thinks of him personally! Glory to Jesus! And did you know that since God is no respecter of persons, His thoughts are just that precious and innumerable about you too?
 
Now most Christians do not have a problem believing that God is constantly considering them; what they do have a hard time believing, however, is that those thoughts are good and positive thoughts. But again, what does Jeremiah 29:11 say that He thinks about us? “For I know the thoughts I think toward you… thoughts of good and not of evil, of peace, to give you a future and a hope.”
 
My brothers and sisters, God is not thinking evil about you! He is focusing on the good in you! And why? Because He loves you more than you can possibly imagine! You see, this fact that we are constantly on His mind reemphasizes to us a very important truth – and that is that He loves us.
 
You know, when we fall in love, one characteristic of that love is our minds become filled with that other person. We think about them all the time when we are at the height of that love. And why are we thinking so much of that person? It is because they are in our heart!
 
Saints, God actually holds us in His heart! He does not just tolerate us or make Himself have to think good things about us. No, He thinks good thoughts about us because we hold a special place in His heart! In other words, we are important to Him because you do not rent space in your heart to people or things that are not important to you. No, what is in your heart is what is valuable to you! Therefore, we must be extremely valuable to the Lord if His heart and mind are so inclined towards us! Amen!
 
PLANS FOR OUR PEACE
 
Now it should be noted that the word “thoughts” in the beginning of this verse carries more of the idea of plans, purposes, or intentions. However, we know that in order to have a plan and purpose, you must first give thought to those plans and purposes, right?
 
So the word “thoughts” is also a good word for us to consider because it shows that (as this Hebrew word is also translated in other passages of Scripture) God is “plotting, scheming and devising” a grand and glorious future for us! Amen?
 
You know, when we hear words like to “plot, scheme and devise,” we usually gear towards the negative, but that is not the case here. In the mind of God, His “scheming” revolves around our blessing! In other words, God’s thoughts towards us are thoughts that conspire for our good and welfare. Praise Jesus!
 
A good example of this is when in Genesis 50:20, Joseph said to his brothers that what they did to him, they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. The word “meant” used in this verse twice are the same Hebrew word for “thoughts” in Jeremiah 29:11, and here we see how this word literally describes his brothers “scheming, plotting, intentions, and purposes” for evil against him but how the LORD had different “thoughts / plans” for Him.
 
You see, with man these thoughts/plans for us might not be so good. In fact, they might very well be as evil as Joseph’s brothers’, BUT GOD! But the LORD has different plans and thinks different thoughts for our future! Amen!  
 
My friends, the mind of Christ is filled with wonderful plans, purposes and intentions for your life! He has a plan for you! You might not think He does; but He does! That’s why I believe it is significant how the first part of Jeremiah 29:11 is worded…
 
Notice again that the Lord says, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord …” Why does He say, “For I know the thoughts…”? Evidently, it was because His people believed He was thinking something else!
 
Did you know that this is still true today? So many of God’s people have a totally incorrect perception of what God is thinking about them. They think God is harsh, critical and fault finding – always focused on our sin and shortcomings. This is why the Lord went on to say in Jeremiah 29:11 that the thoughts and plans that He knows He has for us are for peace and not of evil. Evidently this is exactly what His chosen people believed He was thinking about them – thoughts of evil. Nothing could be further from the truth!  As we have already seen, the exact opposite is true!
 
On a side note, let me show you why people think this way about God. It’s because they think that He thinks the way they think. In other words, most people will judge others according to how they would do things. If they think someone is always conspiring against them, it’s usually because they think that way. It’s tight but it’s right. 
 
You see, while God certainly is well aware of all of our faults and failures, He does not focus on the negative. No, in fact, God is focused more on our potential and His good plan for us than all of the ways that we fall short of His glory. Sure, we tend to focus on the negatives in people, but not God!
 
No, First Corinthians 13:5 tells us that love thinks no evil. Amen! Other translations say, “(love) keeps no record of wrongs,” “(love) does not count the bad” and “it doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.” So listen – if God is love (1 John 4:8), then that means that God keeps no record of wrongs, He does not count the bad things in us, and He doesn’t keep score of our sins! Amen! In fact, the Scriptures teach us that our sins and lawless deeds He remembers no more (Hebrews 10:17)! Why? It’s because He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12)!
 
So His thoughts, plans and purpose for us are of “peace” and not of evil … Now, of course, the word “peace” comes from the Hebrew word “shalom” – which means more than simply having an absence of conflict. Shalom describes “completeness, wholeness, soundness, success and welfare.” It basically describes having nothing missing and nothing broken in our lives. So we can see that God’s thoughts and plans for our lives involve making them complete, whole, sound, successful and with nothing missing and nothing broken! Amen!
 
And not just “peace” for the present, but “peace” for our future. This is why Jeremiah went on to say that the LORD’s intentions were to give us a future and HOPE!
 
How many of you know that the LORD is called the God of Hope (See Romans 15:13)? He doesn’t just have hope to give; He IS hope! That means that, in Him, there is always hope. It doesn’t matter how impossible it may seem to us that things can turn around. It doesn’t matter how much we feel we have aborted His plans for our future. In Him, is always hope!
 
So we have clearly seen God’s heart on the matter… He has good thoughts and plans for us and for our future! His purpose for us is to live lives that are complete, whole, sound – with nothing missing and nothing broken in them – both today and forevermore! Amen and amen!
 
HOW TO WALK IN GOD’S PLAN AND PURPOSE
 
But how many of you know that not every Christian walks in the reality of this? We would be naïve to think that all of God’s children actually walk in this complete and total fulfillment of Jeremiah 29:11. We would be foolish to think that we all experience the height of His goodness and the extent of His hope. I would go as far as saying that the vast majority of God’s children do not experience what Jeremiah 29:11 describes.
 
So the question is – Why? Why do so many of God’s people not experience this wonderful hope and future that God has for them? Well, I believe the Lord has shown me that some of the reasons for this are found in this very chapter – Jeremiah chapter 29.
 
So what I want us to do today is look at a few truths listed here in Jeremiah chapter 29 because I wholeheartedly believe that in them lie some integral keys that unlock us fulfilling what God’s heart is for us to walk in.
 
You see, as it is with so many Scriptures, we tend to take these truths and lift them up out of context, and in doing so, we miss the complete picture of what God was trying to communicate to us. And Jeremiah 29:11 is no different! While so many believers can quote this verse, the vast majority of them have zero knowledge of the verses surrounding it.
 
So let’s take a look at this entire passage of Scripture and glean from the truth of God’s Word …
 
Now when you look at verses 4-28, you will notice that the margins are a little different in most of our Bibles. The reason for this is because whoever compiled Jeremiah’s prophecy wanted us to know that it is actually a letter that the prophet Jeremiah wrote to the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon. And the purpose of his letter was to give some specific instructions and exhortations to these exiles while they were in Babylon, which included our beloved verse 11.  
 
So let’s begin looking at this letter recorded in the Book of Jeremiah in detail and see what principles are included in it that will help us to enter into those thoughts, plans and purposes that the Lord has for us …
 
HOW TO FIND GOD’S WILL
 
I want to draw your attention first to the couple of verses that immediately follow Jeremiah 29:11.
 
Immediately after saying that He knows the thoughts He thinks towards us and that they are plans of peace, a hope and a future, the Lord says in verse 12, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me …” Now this is significant, saints, because the word “then” shows us “when” we will call upon Him and pray to Him. And when will this be? When we start thinking the way God thinks about us! Then we will call upon Him and go and pray to Him! That’s good stuff right there!  
 
So when we truly understand that God has a good plan for our lives (i.e. we are convinced that He has a good plan with a hope and a future) we will start calling and praying to discover that plan! Thank you, Lord Jesus!
 
You see, if we are convinced that the Lord has a good plan – meaning, this truth is established in our hearts – we will seek after it. For one to say they believe God has a purpose for them, yet they never search for it with any semblance of persistence and zeal, I highly doubt that they believe in their hearts that He has something good for them. Why? Because faith without works is dead (James 2:20).
 
And this leads me to my next point: This praying and calling upon the Lord is not a passive thing either! Notice what Jeremiah said next in verse 13: He said, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
 
You know, one of the main reasons that many of God’s people do not truly uncover His plan for their lives is because they do not put their whole heart into discovering it! Sure, they hope they will discover the plan of God for them. They sure would like to know. But do they ever spend time seeking to know it? Do they get serious enough to fast and pray concerning what God’s purpose is for their lives? Sadly, not many do this. Like I said, they would like to know His plan and purpose, but they don’t love to know it! What I mean by that is they don’t want to know it to the degree that they’re willing to spend any time, effort, and energy to find it!
 
You see, God has told us time and time again in His Holy Word that when we ask, we shall receive, when we seek, we shall find, when we knock it shall be opened for us (Matthew 7:7-8)! But this asking, seeking and knocking is not just the casual – “Well, I knocked a couple of times, but no one came to the door. I guess they weren’t home, so I’ll just leave.” No, we are talking about a kind of asking, seeking, and knocking that is persistent and that is not willing to quit! Amen!
 
And it is not that God is like some old miser up in heaven who is unwilling to give you what you want until you beg enough. No, it is just that sometimes we must press through the flesh to uncover the riches of the Spirit! Amen!
 
So, yes, a foundational key to discovering God’s plan and purpose for you is to begin seeking Him for that plan with all of your heart! Amen?
 
But what do you do while you are seeking and searching? That is a great question; I’m glad I asked it.
 
Let’s go back to the beginning of this letter and see what specific instructions the Lord gave to these exiles through Jeremiah …
 
STEP #1- BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED
 
In the beginning of this letter, Jeremiah starts out by addressing them – “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon” (Verse 4).
 
It’s important to understand that it wasn’t the LORD’s plan for this. Just looking at this isolated verse can give one the impression that He instigated their being carried away into captivity, but no, it was their own numbskull decisions that got them in this predicament. As was usually the case with the children of Israel (and us too), our choices to not do things God’s way oftentimes lead to the struggles we experience in life. 
 
So always remember – if we are experiencing something that is consistent with what the Bible calls a curse, then it’s not God’s will for us. In this case, it was His chosen people who willed it, not God.
 
Then in verses 5-6, Jeremiah goes on to immediately exhort the people to build houses and plant gardens, to take spouses and beget sons and daughters. He was basically telling them to continue living the way they would even though they were not in their home of Jerusalem.
 
At the end of verse 6 he says, “… that you may be increased there, and not diminished.”
 
It’s important to understand that he LORD is always about us increasing, no matter if we are in the penthouse or the outhouse. In this case, they were in the cellar for sure. Yet, even though they were in a less than desirable place in bondage in Babylon, the LORD still encouraged them to increase, multiply, and prosper – showing us that even if we are not in the job we want, even if we don’t have the ministry we desire, or even if we don’t have the marriage we’ve always wanted, that we don’t need to wait to put our best foot forward. Press in to let the LORD increase you where you are at, even if the end result right now is someone else’s prosperity.
 
A good example of this is Joseph when he was enslaved to Potipher and in prison in Egypt. It didn’t matter where Joseph was or what undesirable situation he was in, he always did things with excellence and saw increase as a result. And, of course, we know what this led to – him experiencing his “Jeremiah 29:11.” Amen?    
 
The children of Israel did the same when they were in Egypt, didn’t they? From the days of Joseph to the days of Moses, they increased & multiplied in the Land of Egypt. Exodus chapter one talks about how they were “exceedingly fruitful” and how they “multiplied greatly.” They did this when times were good (when Joseph was around) and they kept doing it when times were bad (when they were oppressed by the Egyptians). 
 
So my point is that here is a good first step to fulfilling your purpose and vision – bloom where you are planted!
 
You see, human nature tends towards not putting its best foot forward if it does not have a controlling interest in the place that it is planted. In other words, we tend to take better care of our baby than we do of someone else’s baby. But if God has put us somewhere – whether that be in a job, a church etc. - then our goal should be to show the same diligence that we would if it were our own business or our own ministry.
 
In Ephesians chapter 6 we see similar exhortations to those of us who are serving under the umbrella of another… Beginning in verse 5, Paul addresses “bondservants.” Now the following exhortations can apply to anyone who is under the authority of someone else. He goes on to tell them – “be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” So what we see here is the heart attitude we should have when serving is that we are ultimately serving the Lord, not the man.
 
Now there is a reason that this exhortation is in the Bible, and do you know why that is? It’s because the vast majority of people do not do their job or serve in their churches with this attitude. Most people are men-pleasers and as long as someone is looking, recognizing their hard work etc. they will get the job done, but the moment eyes are turned away from them, they give a lack luster effort.
 
As it has been said in the world – “Dress for the job you want, not for the job you’ve got.” This goes for not only how you dress, but the attitude and effort that you dress yourself with in your current situation. Friends, promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west; promotion comes from the Lord! (see Psalm 75:6) But one of the main reasons I see that the vast majority do not get promoted by the Lord is because they are not truly working for the Lord; they are working for man.
 
So my point is that when we are currently in a situation where we are serving another man’s plan, purpose and vision, do it heartily as unto God, not unto man! Take ownership and put your best foot forward, knowing that as Ephesians 6:8 goes on to promise us – “whatever good any one does, he will receive the same from the Lord.” In other words, work hard for the authorities God has put in your life like you are serving Christ Himself. Then you will position yourself for promotion! Amen?
 
STEP #2- SEEK THE PEACE OF THE CITY
 
Yes, Jeremiah 29:4-6 tells us to live life to the full even if we are in Babylon. Don’t quit! Work heartily as unto the Lord in whatever situation you might currently be in. Trust the Lord to bless the work of your hands and to prosper whatever you set your hands unto. However, human nature is to simply gripe and complain about the way things currently are. Let me explain …
 
They let their discontentment affect their attitude. Not only do they not do their work as unto the Lord and bloom where they are planted, but they despise it.
 
You see, so many people despise the day of small beginnings, and the Scriptures teach us not to do so (See Zechariah 4:10). Now we all might tend to think we are not doing that, but I imagine the LORD might think we are guilty of this if we are not working diligently under the vision of someone else. So since we are unhappy with the thing that we are currently setting our hand to do, we do not show the same diligence and effort that we would if we had the job, family, ministry etc. that we desire. And this “despising” is so much more subtle than most realize. It causes offense that most never realize. A root of bitterness can spring up that defiles. And then we’ve got a heart that is ladened with weeds, briars, thorns, etc. that affect the issues of our life. 
 
This is why I believe Jeremiah went on to say in Jeremiah 29:7, “And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” Wow! There is so much we can learn from this verse!
 
What he was saying here is to actually, genuinely seek the peace of the city of their captors! That would be Babylon! That would be like us here in America being overthrown by another country and being carried away to that country to be servants there, and then the Lord telling us to seek the peace & welfare of that nation while we are there. I can only imagine what you might be thinking after reading that. Most of us are saying in our hearts – “Ain’t no way!” Well, that’s your problem. We have to be willing to do whatever the Lord tells us to do even if everything in our flesh & mind are completely opposed to it. In this case, it was a big part of the Lord leading them to those good plans He had for them.
 
You know, one of the most obvious ways that we have done this is with our own government here in the United States. So many people (including Christians) have been so disenchanted with the state of our country for years. And while I do not disagree with the fact that we need a major change and intervention from God in the United States of America, this does not mean we should be sitting around and cursing our nation because we don’t like how things are going. This is not “seeking the peace of the city” that Jeremiah was talking about. Complaining about it is not praying for it. No, if we are seeking the peace of our country and genuinely praying for it, then the poor attitude towards things will be absent.
 
And Jeremiah even went as far as telling them why it was so important to do this. It was because “for in its peace you will have peace.”
 
This reminds me of First Timothy chapter 2 where the apostle Paul taught us to pray for all men, especially the kings and all who are in authority. And why? “… that you may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” (First Timothy 2:2).
 
Now if you know anything about history, you know that the ones he was talking about praying for here were the Romans. Yes, Rome was the oppressing city where the kings (i.e. emperors) and all who were in authority resided.
 
So essentially what Paul was showing his readers to do here was to seek the peace of Rome and the other Roman provinces, to pray for Caesar, his governors, etc. And this exhortation was made just before some of the worst, most ungodly Emperors that Rome had ever known would come into power.
 
I wonder if the Holy Spirit might have been inspiring the apostle Paul to write this because He knew what was on the horizon if they didn’t. And I wonder if the church just ignored this or did it half-heartedly. I think both of these are very likely.
 
So do you know what this teaches me? The reason why we don’t experience a quiet and peaceable life is not because of the king and those in authority, but because of the church’s failure to pray for the king and those in authority. Amen or Oh me? You see, we need to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem (absolutely!), but we also need to be praying for the peace of whatever place that we live in! Amen? For in praying for its peace, we will have peace!
 
But this also goes for praying for your family, your job, your church etc.  Saints, there are countless employees out there who are griping and complaining about how much they make in their job, but what if instead of them complaining, they would start using that same energy to pray for the success and prosperity of their employer? Do you think that just maybe if they started prospering, they would have more to pay you? Just maybe! But somebody will say, “Yeah well, they wouldn’t pay me any extra anyways.” But again, who is your employer? It’s ultimately the Lord! He is who we are to be serving whole-heartedly! So then, He is the One who can give us the raise that we desire by moving upon our employers’ hearts or by supplying our needs another way! Amen!
 
So pray for the place that you are in. Pray for the peace and prosperity of those around you - genuinely and from the heart, seeking their welfare. For, as this Scripture promises, in their peace, we will find our peace!
 
STEP #3- DON’T LISTEN TO HANANIAH!
 
Then Jeremiah goes on to exhort the people in verses 8-9 to not listen to the wrong voices …
 
He says in these verses – “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the Lord.”
 
You see, there was a false prophet in Jeremiah’s day that was speaking lies to the people. If you go back to Jeremiah chapter 28, you will see where a man by the name of Hananiah was prophesying to the priests and all of the people that the Lord was going to bring them and all of their stuff back to Jerusalem in 2 years. The gist of his message was that they do not need to get too comfortable in Babylon – for the Lord was going to break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from them soon.
 
Now while I’m sure these were comforting words in the ears of all the people and words their flesh wanted to hear, they were not accurate. In fact, in his letter to the exiles, Jeremiah gave them the true Word of the Lord that after 70 years are completed in Babylon, the Lord would bring them back to their own land (See Jeremiah 29:10). In other words, the truth he was giving them was that probably all of them were going to die in Babylon and their children or children’s children would be the ones to return to Jerusalem.
 
Now, as history has taught us, Jeremiah’s words were not appreciated very much. Why? Because people want to hear what they want to hear. Their flesh doesn’t like receiving things that don’t cater to convenience, pleasure, etc.
 
And church, this is something we need to guard our hearts against when we are in those days of small beginnings while we are on the way to the hope & future that the LORD has for us.
 
Now these “prophets & diviners” are not always flesh & blood. Sure, it can be a video on YouTube, a preacher on television, or a newscaster on the radio, but sometimes it is the voices on the inside of us or what we dream up on our own. This is why Jeremiah wrote – “nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.” That indicates that some of the things we imagine were conjured up by us.
 
Friends, when we are in our “Babylon,” we need to be careful not to heed the voices that we hear on the inside of us. For the flesh and soul love to feed us lies that enforce impatience and not remaining planted. We need to be careful not to feed those deceptions and uproot ourselves prematurely before the fruit can begin to come forth from the seed sown. This is a huge temptation that we need to resist – not to fight against or uproot ourselves prematurely before the fruit of God’s purpose can be produced in and through us!
 
CONCLUSION
 
Friends, these are just a few ways that you and I can be sure to stay on the path to entering into God’s plans and what He is thinking for our lives.
 
These are some good New Year’s resolutions for you – No, it’s not to lose weight or to become more organized. It’s to …
 
1.Be convinced that God is thinking good thoughts about you, and He has a bright future ahead for you!
2.Start searching for his plans for you with all of your heart – that is, spending time in your prayer closet seeking His face with the aim of obtaining His thoughts!
3.Bloom where you are planted – working as unto the Lord with all of your might!
4.Seek the peace of the place you are currently in and pray for those around you to fulfill their glorious future as well.
5.Not listen to those “Hananiah’s” who would try to convince us to move and uproot ourselves from our place called there!
 
Do these things and I will give you an unconditional guarantee that you will discover your purpose!