“The desire of the righteous is only good: But the expectation of the wicked is wrath. There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; And there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: But blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: But he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: But the righteous shall flourish as a branch. He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: And the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; And he that winneth souls is wise. Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: Much more the wicked and the sinner.”
Proverbs 11:23-31 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.11.23-31.KJV
The Best Plans
Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse that’s often slapped onto journals, etched into coffee mugs, and printed on t-shirts.
“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.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
And God does have a plan for you.
God does want to bless you.
God does want to give you hope and a future.
But, we should also pay attention to the original context …
In this case, God was speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah—people who’d recently been exiled to Babylon for 70 years.
The Jewish people were banished to a foreign land because of their insatiable appetite for sin. In fact, for 23 years Jeremiah had been warning them to stop rebelling against God or prepare to face the consequences.
God is patient, but He is also just.
In other words, the Jews were sent to timeout. And as you can read in the preceding chapters, God made a case against His ...