FRUSTRATION: EXPECTING WHAT GOD DIDN'T PROMISE

'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 vs 11

Many have fallen from the Faith in present times, and many are on the edge of falling; as a result of failed expectations led to frustrations and sadness. So today, there are those who are angry at the Church, many have identified with atheism, because of these two categorical reasons;

1. They felt they've been deceived. And this is because of the second reason,
2. They grumble that what they've been taught in Church over the years is not working. So they say things like, "this thing is not working".

But friend, when we investigate the thing they said is not working, you will find out that what they say doesn't work was never promised by God in the first place; preachers who will not give themselves to the learning and study of the word of God have interpreted Bible texts out of their original contexts, and have preached to the people promises and blessings that God actually didn't promise. So because the message was false, it therefore means that any faith (irrespective of its intensity) anchored on such teachings/messages will not produce the result(s) it talked about; so that means that the people will definitely be disappointed in the end because their faith will fail, because they have anchored it on a false message. - Think on these things

Our opening Bible passage is one of the many Biblical texts that so many preachers have falsely interpreted to the congregation of God's people. But let us take this one Bible passage for this teaching. Let's analyze the context of that Bible text, and see who that statement/promise was made to;

'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 vs 11 {KJV}

Now hear this, to properly interpret a Bible text, you must situate that text in the time when it was spoken, the people it was spoken to, and the condition for which purpose it was spoken. This way, you can accurately interpret and  appropriate that Bible text. Now the above Bible passage was Jeremiah writing to the Israelites who were taken as captives into Babylon, he was writing to them the mind of God concerning them, so that they could know what to expect and how to place their expectations in that land of bondage. - Selah. Follow me. Let me show you that chapter 29 from the very first verse up to the 14th verse, so that you can have a broad view of what happened. Sit tight and patiently read;

'Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
2
(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)
3
By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying,
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Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;
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Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;
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Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished.
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And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
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For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
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For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.
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For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
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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.
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Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
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And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
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And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.' - {KING JAMES VERSION}

Now, if you read the passages carefully, you now understand what transpired there. Some Israelites were taken as captives into Babylon, and Jeremiah wrote to them the word of the Lord, so that they can know what God is saying about their situation. Part of what God said concerning the Israelites taken captives is what we read in our opening Bible passage. Let's take a look at it again;

'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 vs 11 {KJV}

You see, this was Jeremiah writing to them God's word concerning them in their captivity. Simple! This was not a promise made to everybody, it was a promise made to those Israelites in captivity; and you know what, God has fulfilled that promise, because He brought them out of their captivity as He said He would. You see... that was not a promise to the Christian, it is not a promise to us. But what do we hear in many of our churches today, Pastors use this Bible texts (and others which they wrongly interpret) to assure Believers that God is going to give them breakthroughs and all that. When these brethren after a long wait don't see positive changes in their situations, they begin to feel that Christianity doesn't work, satan takes advantage of that position of theirs and pull them out of the sheepfold. Pathetic! - Think on what I'm saying to you as you read

Dearly beloved, God wishes us well, God wants us to have a beautiful life and a beautiful future. But don't use Jeremiah 29 vs 11 to buttress that idea, because that's not what it speaks of. - Selah. The moment your faith is anchored on a false understanding (message, teaching), your expectation from that revelation will not materialize because you are believing for what that Bible text never said. - Think on this

THERE ARE NO PROMISES OF GOD FOR ANY BELIEVER TO CLAIM

'For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.' - 2 Corinthians 1 vs 20 {KJV}

• For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen

Let me rephrase this Bible verse for you, so that you will understand what the Apostle said here;

'All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ.'

The two words "Yes & Amen" in this context means "fulfillment, fulfilled". So what the Apostle Paul said is, All the promises of God are fulfilled in Christ. Uhmmm!

It's important that you know that every promise God made through the mouth of Prophets and men of God in the Old Testament days were prophecies of the Messiah, concerning His coming, what He would do, what He would suffer, His death, burial, and His resurrection from the dead; and Christ has fulfilled all of it;

'And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.' - Luke 24 vs 27 {KJV}

• in all the scriptures the things concerning himself

'And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.' - Luke 24 vs 44 {KJV}

• all things (all the promises of God / prophecies) must be fulfilled
• which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me

You see... All the promises of God spoken through the mouths of the Prophets in the Old Testament were concerning Christ, and He has fulfilled every one of them. - Think about it

Now, there's a fatal error practiced by many Christians, and that's one major source of the frustration of many Christians today; it is the error of claiming just any good word in the Bible as a personal word. Listen, when you read the Bible, you must be very observant and watchful of the audience to which words were spoken, and the reason for which they were spoken. For example;

'But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.' - Philippians 4 vs 19 {KJV}

It's just amazing how a Christian will consider this verse of the Bible as a promise of God to him! It's just waoww! And when the situations and conditions of their lives don't look like "the promise" which they have claimed, they begin to murmur and complain, and many times eventually become frustrated, and many fall out of the Faith. Why? Wrong understanding! - Think about it

The above Bible verse was the Apostle Paul praying for the brethren at Philippi, who gave resources (money/provision) to him. You must pay attention to context when you read the Bible, because the life of every Bible word or statement is in the context at which it was used. - Selah. You can read the whole chapter 4 of that book to understand the communication there; but let's see the immediate pretext, so that we can ascertain the audience to whom Apostle Paul made that prayer;

'But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.' - verse 18

• having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you

You see...they gave to him, and in return, he blessed them. Period! You cannot claim that prayer and make it personal if you were not among those who gave that gift to him. - Think on this slowly

So you see dearly beloved, there are no pending promises of God for any Believer to claim and make personal, no! All the promises of God were about the Messiah, and He has fulfilled every one of them. So therefore, be careful how you lay claim to Bible promises that were not intended to be spoken for material provisions for anyone; because, you will be the victim at the end of the day. Any faith or expectation anchored on a false doctrine/knowledge/understanding cannot produce the desired result; hence, will definitely end in disappointment and unfruitfulness.

The only promise of God that can be made personal is the promise of Salvation to the man that believes; and this promise is made only to the sinner;

'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved...' - Mark 16 vs 16 {KJV}

'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' - John 3 vs 16 {KJV}

This is the only promise that yet exists in the entire Bible - the promise of Salvation to them that believe; every other promises of God have been fulfilled in Christ. Glory to God.

Therefore beloved, are you one of such frustrated brethren I spoke of? Have your expectations from what you believed over the years failed, and you're about to give up on Christianity? My friend, calm down! Forgive all those who have wrongly taught you the scriptures, tell yourself that you will learn the truth and know what the Bible actually teaches. Now, go for Truth! Prayerfully ask God to guide and lead you to a sound teacher of the Bible. When you find him, stay with him. God is with you; be restored of your wasted years. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

- Jenning U. Angel

Maybe you want to contact me, you have questions or you want to share something, write me through this email, [email protected].

It is well with you.