Most of us don’t have any problem believing God knows the plans He has for us. Of course He knows the plans. He is, after all, God.

The problem for many of us is that WE don’t know the plans. God knows the plans, but we want to know them…and God doesn’t always seem to be telling.

Now if everything was going well in our lives, I suspect that a lot of us, myself included, wouldn’t care quite as much about knowing God’s plans for us. We’d just assume we were already experiencing His plans. Pleasant circumstances have a way of dulling our sensitivity to God.

But when things aren’t going so well, when circumstances aren’t what we desired, hoped for or prayed for–well, then we’re much more interested in knowing God’s plans.

Sometimes, I think we wrongly assume our current circumstances, because they’re painful or difficult, couldn’t possibly be what God had planned for us. But that’s not always the case.

In Jeremiah 29, the chapter the “I know the plans I have for you” verse comes from, we see that many Jews are in exile in Babylon for a period of 70 years. That’s a long time to be in exile, to be away from the land you long to return to. There may have been people who were born during the exile and died during the exile. Exile was all they ever knew.

Hundreds of years earlier, the nation of Israel was in bondage in Egypt for 400 years. I’m sure most of them remembered the promise God had made to their ancestor, Abraham–that God was going to give them the land of Canaan as their possession. And yet, many Jews were born in Egypt, lived their lives as slaves in Egypt, and died Egypt.

Hebrews 11 is a chapter that highlights the great faith displayed by Abraham, Moses, Noah, Rahab, David and others. This is also the chapter that says:

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”

To be honest, I really don’t like that verse all that much. They did not receive the things promised? Only saw them and welcomed them from a distance? Huh? I want God’s good plans for me. I’m not into the “did not receive” part. That sounds…hard. Painful. Disappointing.

And yet, a life of believing God is lived by keeping our eyes on God, not our circumstances. Paul said he had learned to be content in all circumstances. Whether he had plenty or he lacked–he was okay with it. Why? Because regardless of his circumstances–he had Christ.

I’m not suggesting we don’t desire or pray for improved circumstances. For those of us with medical issues–we want healing. If we have financial problems–we want God to provide a way through or a way out. If it’s a failing marriage or a rebellious child or some other relationship problem–we want God to fix it.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 says:

This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

God’s plan was to bring the Jews back after 70 years in Babylon. His plans were to prosper, not harm them. His plans were to give them a hope and a future. They would call upon Him and He would listen. They would seek Him and find Him.

It wasn’t going to happen immediately though. There was a period of waiting. Surely, some of them died before returning. They saw God’s promise from a distance.

I know we long for God to change things. I do. But what if we were to long for God more?

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

To delight in God means to find pleasure and enjoyment in Him. What if we made that our highest aim, instead of relief from our difficulties?

Ultimately, God’s best plan for us is simply…Himself.

Could it be that we experience God’s plans when we experience Him in the midst of whatever we’re facing?