For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11 (KJV)

“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)

Jeremiah prophesied that Israel would go into captivity for 70 years. In spite of what was to come, God declared good would come- that they would come back to God and back to their homeland. That’s exactly what happened.

When we face hard times, whether caused by our own actions or that of others, we can be comforted. Bad things happen becuse of our bad decisions or the bad decisions of other people, but God tells us to get our hopes up. We are to expect good to come from God and know that things are not always going to be bad.

Jeremiah chapters 30 and 31 which follow this verse, are chapters of hope and restoration. God is saying to begin to expect good, and good will come; God will turn it around. You can expect good things because God is good,and working all things for your good is what He does. This leads to restoration. God will restore and give back to us all that has been lost- and more than that. God says that our expected end will not be cut off.

Begin to expect good things to happen rahter than dread that bad things are coming. Expect a good, blessed, positive outcome. God promises us peace, which in the original language means wholeness, nothing missing or broken. When God restores us and turns our captivity around, it will be as if it never happened. As a matter of fact, we’ll be better off as a result of it happening the way it did.

The good will undo all the bad that has happened. We will see God is a good God who only promises and performs good on our behalf. Expect good from God, and He will bring good to you. God is good and only does us good. Expect good to see good and experience the goodness of our good God.