Isn't it comforting to know that God has a plan for us? Sometimes it seems as if life has thrown us a curveball, and we can't handle it ourselves. Sometimes, we don't know what is going to happen, or we just don't understand. I can imagine that those who read these words in Jeremiah's letter to the exiles were thinking just about the same thing.
Jeremiah wrote this letter to the Jewish exiles who had been deported to Babylon. In the rest of the letter, Jeremiah told them what they did not want to hear--that God's message to them was to get comfortable in Babylon, and to pray for its welfare. How would you feel if you were told to pray for the nation that just took everything you have ever known away from you?
When God told the Israelites to settle in Babylon, He also left them with the promise that He had a plan for them, and that it was for their prosperity, not for their destruction. He reminded them that, although things may have seemed bleak at that moment, things would not be this way forever, because His plan for His people is ultimately good.
Whenever we face a tough time in life, we can look back on God's message to the Israelites that He sent through Jeremiah's letter. We, as His people, can know that even in our darkest days, God has a plan that is ultimately for our benefit, not for our destruction. Isn't that comforting?