Finding Faith ... in God's plans for us

EDITOR'S NOTE: In October 2017 I began a new venture as a synodically authorized minister at Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. The ride over the past 2.5 years has been an amazing journey of learning, growing and the deepening of my theological mind. This sermon originally took place on March 15, 2020.

Carter, Ava and Tia … You all have worked very hard over these past three years to reach this point in your journey of faith.

And it is an honor to have been involved in your confirmation in a small way. … It’s been a blessing to have gotten to confirm others here too, but this one I will remember as the first during which I got to help teach confirmation.

So thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your faith journey. … I will cherish this forever.

As much as I hope that you cherish those times I forced you put on your coats and go walking with me so that we could do confirmation outside … in the cold.

Today, for you, specifically, I have chosen a passage from the Book of Jeremiah, and you may have heard it before. It is popular, especially at times like this.

The verse is Jeremiah 29:11, and it reads: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

Now at first blush, that might sound a bit daunting, doesn’t it? … Oh wait, God has plans for me? … Well, what are they? … How does he know what I’m going to do? … Have I already screwed them up?

Well, take heart. … No you haven’t.

In some ways this is a very heartening scripture in that it is comforting to think that God has a hand on the steering wheel of our lives, and he is going to chauffeur us safely to his end destination, wherever that may be … Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

The trouble is, though, that we -- even us adults -- often misconstrue what the prophet Jeremiah is telling us.

He is not telling us that the journey to God’s destination ... his final plan for us... will be a smooth ride. … And each of you is old enough to understand that.

I know that it is easy in tough times to think back to passages like this and think, “But God, you promised me you had plans for my welfare!” … Some Bible translations even use the wording “plans to prosper!”

Now that sounds even more like a promise that everything is supposed to turn out rosy, doesn’t it? … Plans to prosper!

Money and fast cars and big houses … lots of horses. … Sailing through high school on a wave of popularity. … The coolest parents. … Now that’s prospering, right!

But the honest truth is: Our earthly lives aren’t always rosy. … None of our lives are. … Just ask any adult in your life. … Just as we are experiencing together right now, this world can be down right scary on a global level, and even more frightening on a personal level. … For many, many reasons.

You each, I’m sure, can think of a time where you might have thought to yourself: “Really, these are the plans you had for me, God? … Well, they stink.”

Trust me, I’ve been there. … I get it.

But when you get to that moment, this is what I really pray that you hold onto. … Just remember, God doesn’t create our difficult times. He’s not testing us.

There are other forces at play in this world that help shape the everyday challenges and even the major heartbreaks we experience.

So when God says he has plans for us, he is reassuring us that ... even in the most broken moments of our lives he is there. … He will help deliver you to the other side of the stormy sea, and he also is reassuring you that … you… are … never … alone.

That is what God means through his prophet in Jeremiah 29:11. … He gives us a future of hope. … You see, we often forget that last phrase in this scripture because we get too busy focusing on the first two-thirds of the lesson.

But THE key that God is driving home to us through his prophet is that there is hope, and when we live into our faith, God will deliver us a life of hope. … A future for which we can be thankful. … And that is the good news that you will find in this scripture, Carter, Ava and Tia.

On this day when you affirm your Christian faith, I cannot promise you an uneventful life, with no pain or heartbreak. … I wish I could.

But what I can promise you is that God, and your families and this church will be there for you when things break. … Here for you for the times when you feel that the very ground beneath your feet has given out, and you are falling into the unknown.

And it is during those times that I hope that you remember this verse: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”