One of the great texts in the book of the prophet Jeremiah is this one. “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 and a hope. (29:11) 

The setting is this. Israel has failed God in many ways. There is too much injustice in the land and too wide a gap between the rich and the poor. God is not pleased. A massive army of Assyria is on the move. They have taken over the nation and deported thousands of Jewish people into Babylon. 

Jeremiah sees the hand of God at work in an ominous time. As a witness to this he goes out and buys a field in Israel. He pays cash for the field. Do you see the irony in what he does?

It would be like buying stock in a company that has filed bankruptcy. It would be like opening a savings account at a failed Savings and Loan. You might say this was Jeremiah’s field of dreams. (See chapter 32) 

After Israel had been invaded, and conquered, and taken, Jeremiah sends a letter to the exiles in Babylon. It is a letter of encouragement and hope. The letter includes the words of this text. “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 and a hope.” 

The book of Jeremiah is not an easy book to read.  It is not the place to start your reading through the bible. It is a gloomy book, not a cheery one – except perhaps for this text. God says through the prophet, “I will give you a future and a hope.” 

These are words we need to hear right now. They are words to the church, words to the people of God, words to the community of believers. We are living in a culture of fear. We are encouraged to fear, to be afraid, and to prepare for the worst. You enter an airport and a guard checks your bags for bombs. Dogs sniff the bags. Surveillance cameras are everywhere. When you go to Heinz Field for a Steelers football game you are carefully patted down and checked before you walk through the gates. 

We are to decide for whom to vote on the basis of fear. Is it code yellow, code orange, or code red? We live in a culture of fear and suspicion. Who will keep us safer? 

There is an old Peanuts cartoon where Lucy and Charlie Brown are sitting in the back of car. Charlie Brown says, “Lucy, what if my father who is driving the car falls asleep at the wheel?” We could have a terrible crash. What if a drunk driver comes over the hill and runs head on into us? We could all be killed. What if the leaves on the road are slippery and we start to skid and slid over an embankment? It is all pretty scary.” Lucy reaches over and says to Charlie Brown, “Take my hand Charlie Brown, take my hand.” 

There has been a recent suggestion that we need another Franklin Delano Roosevelt to say to us again, “the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” I think we need the words of Jeremiah. “I will give you a future and a hope.” There is a notable difference between worldly fear and Godly hope. 

What does Godly hope look like? 

            TRUST IN THE ONE WHO IS LORD OF HISTORY 

First, we trust in the one who is Lord of History. Consider

Psalm 46:      

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. 

Or, how often have we sung these words in worship?   

            What have I to dread, what have I to fear,

             Leaning on the everlasting arms?

             I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,

             Leaning on the everlasting arms. 

There is an old story about the founder of Hasidic sect of Judaism. He realized he was dying and he called his followers together. He said to them, “During my lifetime, I have acted as an intermediary for you. Now you must do this for yourselves. You know the place in the forest where I call to God. Go there to the same place and light a fire as I have instructed you. Then say the prayer I have taught you. If you do all this, God will come. 

The first generation did exactly as he said, and God came. The next generation forgot how to light the fire, but they went to the same place, said the prayer and God still came. The third generation forgot the fire and the place in the forest, but they remembered the prayer and God came. 

Several generations went by. Now, no one knew how to light the fire. No one remembered the place or the prayer. But one person remembered the story and God still came. 

We are here today to remember the story. Even if we have only a morsel of faith remaining, hope comes. My job and the job of the church is to keep the flame of trust in God alive. My job is to help you remember the story. 

What if we trusted God’s goodness and mercy to be our security system? What if we lived as though God’s loving arms wrapped around the whole world? Would we make different choices? Would we be less fearful? Would we deal differently with each other? 

This is part of what my fall messages have been about this year. We have been remembering the wonderful stories of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Jonah and now Jeremiah. These persons in the Old Testament inspire a trust that keeps hope alive. Godly hope is one that trusts in the One who is Lord of history. 

TAKE SOME RISKS 

Godly hope is also a hope that takes some risks. 

The elder George Bush attended the funeral of Leonid Brezhnev in 1982. Brezhnev was leader of the Communist world for 18 years. He was Communist and also an Atheist. At his death, his widow carried out a silent protest. She stood motionless beside the coffin until seconds before it was closed. As a soldier touched the lid, she exercised a gesture of courage, hope and risk. Her’s was a profound act of civil disobedience. She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband’s chest. The editors of the Christian Century wrote about this incident as follows. “In the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that the life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross. And that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.” 

St. Augustine wrote, “Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain that way.” 

Is this not way we are in Zimbabwe? Zimbabwe is a nation run by an iron fisted, ruthless dictator. It is a nation where inflation is about 1000% per year. It is a nation where AIDS makes children orphans every day. We are pouring energy, money and prayers into a small island of hope called the Nyadire United Methodist Mission. 

Hope makes us risk takers. I saw a billboard one time for an investment firm that advertised this: “We do investment counseling - for the bullish, the bearish, and the sheepish.” Jeremiah exercised some risk taking investment counseling for the sheepish. 

Let me bring it to a more personal level. A friend of mine retired from a large church in Denver last June. I wrote him a note of congratulations and told him of my own plans. He wrote back:

            I have found a wonderful scripture. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

            I will trust God and see what unfolds. 

Risking godly hope allows us to do that. The difference between worldly fear and Godly hope? Confidence and risk taking. 

A WILLINGNESS TO DREAM 

Godly hope also means we have a willingness to dream. I saw a sermon title on a bulletin board outside of a church that really troubled me. The title was “Prisoners of the Present”. I don’t know the content of that sermon. I didn’t know the preacher either. I only know that we can not be prisoners of the present. We are to be God’s dreamers. 

Robert Greenleaf the Quaker writer once said this:

            “Not much happens without a dream. For something

            Great to happen there must be a great dream. Behind

            Every great achievement is a dreamer of great dreams.

            Much more than a dreamer is required to bring it to

Reality; but the dream must be there first.”[i]

Godly hope allows us to dream big. 

A certain high school football team had lost every game one season. They always managed to find a way to lose – even in the final seconds. The coach was asked, “How do you manage to keep your spirits up?” His answer was classic. He said, “I’m the kind of guy that if I fall into a mud puddle, I would get up and search my pockets for fish.” 

Godly hope allows us to dream about what could happen if we really worked hard at loving our enemies. Godly hope allows us to dream about what could happen if we truly prayed for those who hate us and despitefully use us. Godly hope allows us to dream about what could happen if instead of imposing sanctions and embargos, we became the world’s peacemakers by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless. 

Godly hope allows us to dream the dream of Jesus. It allows us to take His words to heart. 

Listen to these beatitudes from David Nash who is a sculptor and artist in England. 

Blessed are those who have daily dialogue with God.

Their faces will shine like the sea.

Blessed are those who depend upon the Lord.

They shall throw away their crutches.

Blessed are those whose faith moves them to compassion.

They will warm our hearts and teach us to love our neighbors.

Blessed are those who persevere.

Their courage will give us hope; their patience will calm our fears.

Bless are those who trust in the living God.

Their joy in worship will light our path…

Blessed are those whose faith erupts in mission.

Their witness will show us the power of God. 

“I know the plans I have for you to give you a future and a hope.” There is a vast difference between worldly fear and Godly hope. You and I are charged to carry Godly hope into the world. 

There is a story of an NFL football game some years ago between the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Sea Hawks. The game was played in Seattle in the Kingdome. It was a very important regular season game for both teams.  

Most of the game the Sea Hawks seemed to have the game in hand. Then in the middle of the third quarter the tide turned. The Saints were gaining. They exercised creative play. They were moving the ball down the field late in the fourth quarter. If they scored, they would win the game. It was the closing minutes and the radio announcer for the Saints was screaming into the microphone, “The Saints are winning in the Kingdome! The Saints are winning in the Kingdome!” 

Jeremiah’s word to his day and to ours, to you and to me is just that. If we trust the God of history. If we take some worthy risks. If we dare to dream, the people of God will always be winning in the Kingdom.