When Verses Become Platitudes

Here’s the thing: I believe that the Bible is both true and helpful.  Jesus’ words are timeless, continuing to inspire and convict people even today.  However, butting against that fact is another enduring reality: People can be careless and stupid.

When David and I were struggling with infertility, we got LOTS of helpful advice.  “Just relax!” -and- “Buy an ovulation predictor.” -and (my favorite)- “You’re good people, so it’ll work out!”  You can imagine, as the months turned into YEARS of not getting pregnant, those statements wore thin.  Then with the adoption (and ensuing WAIT) it was: “You’ll probably just get pregnant now!” -and- “God’s timing is perfect.”  Finally, after our transfer to India, we heard a lot about “Letting go!” -and- “God closes doors for a reason.”

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Anyone who has been through mild (or major) difficulties in life has their own set of “things people say.”  (I’ve definitely taken my turn both as the delivering culprit and receiving victim, probably acting the former more often than the latter.)  Not that these statements are untrue or intentionally hurtful, but they don’t cut through the white noise of suffering.  And, unfortunately, there are verses like this.  For instance, Romans 8:28- “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  (I’m wincing inside.)  As I said, not untrue, but perhaps not as helpful as intended in certain circumstances.  Also, the Jeremiah passage pictured above.  For folks experiencing real hardship, casual over-sharing of Biblical promises can strip the underlying value these verses could provide.  Inadvertently robbing authentic encouragement from the ones who need it most.  

So when we excitedly visited our sister church, LifeHouse Virginia Beach, to hear the dynamic Brandon Shank speak, we were less than thrilled to discover his message topic: The infamous (in our minds) Jeremiah 29:11.  Eyes were rolled, presumptions made, our thinking caps were NOT dutifully fastened to our heads.  Then the video trailer for the sermon series started playing.  Titled “This May be Tattooed on You,” it was just tongue-in-cheek enough to reel us back in.  At that point, Brandon came up and started tearing down our arrogant assumptions about this verse.

Jeremiah chapter 29 is written to an exiled people.  (This contextual information is why David gets especially frustrated when anyone usurps ONLY the “hope and future” part of the passage.)  Because of deep-seated spiritual problems within the kingdom of Israel, God allowed Babylon to enslave some of his people.  This is what He had to say to those prisoners in Jeremiah 29:4-7,10, “The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, sends this message to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: Build homes, and plan to stay.  Plant gardens, and eat the food you produce.  Marry, and have children.  Then find spouses for them, and have many grandchildren.  Multiply!  Do not dwindle away!  And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon.  Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you….The truth is that you will be in Babylon for seventy years.  But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.”  And THAT’s the loaded lead-in to the hope and future of Jeremiah 29:11.  Seventy years of exile.  Ouch.

But NOT only exile, fruitful exile.  With the foreknowledge that some Israelites would not return to freedom in this life, God asked them to work for the prosperity of the land where they were hostages.  He commanded His people to increase their personal investment -through expanded families and estates- in this hostile environment.  He challenged them to grow where HE had planted them, NOT where they had envisioned being planted.  Because, as Brandon explained, sometimes instead of praying for rescue or removal FROM our situation, we should be praying for a revelation ABOUT our situation.  And that little bit of wisdom completely restored Jeremiah 29:11’s relevance to David's and my cynical hearts.

Because “hope and future” aren’t necessarily about this life.  (Sorry Grads who picked this as your 2017 verse of affirmation!)  God is also referencing eternal promises, which remain true through crappy stuff.  He is saying, “You might feel stuck, but I am with you.  What is happening isn’t a mistake, although it may be hard.  I haven’t forgotten you.  Please try to live abundantly -with joy- not because of your circumstances, but because you know Jesus.”  THIS speaks to me deeply.  It makes sense.  The weekend after Brandon’s sermon -while visiting family in Richmond- this truth became even more resonant.  We attended church with my Aunt Karen and Uncle Doug.  Over the 6 past years, ALS has debilitated my healthy, active Uncle into the confines of a motorized wheelchair.  But at church, his mechanical transportation played second fiddle to his ebullience.  Doug beamed as he spoke with friends, watched his grandkids run and play, introduced family around.  During worship, he belted out praise to his Creator, face transcendent.  I discreetly observed this holy moment until finally having to turn away, eyes filled with tears.  My Uncle -like many of Jeremiah 29’s Israelites- will not know freedom (from ALS) again in this lifetime.  He will be captive to the wheelchair, to his rebelling body, until the end.  But thankfully, his hope and future rest beyond that final breath.  Because the One who conquered both death and the grave also secured my Uncle’s everlasting hope and future.  And by that sacrificial act on the cross, Jesus transformed mankind’s greatest fear into the singular, supernatural gateway to full communion with the Divine.  How beautiful, the Lord’s plans for us.

 Watch Brandon's message here!