At the end of the annual meeting, just before the prayer of dismissal, the pastor turned to Jeremiah 29 and read to the congregation:

“Surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”

I wonder how many times in the past 2600 years this passage has thrilled and inspired God’s people.

People are often reminded that God has a plan.

He has a plan for each individual life and he has a plan for the people collectively, as a whole, as a Church.

In this case, most of the people of Jerusalem have been captured by the kin...