God Might Ruin Your Plans
DOUG WEKENMAN
Everything’ s perfect.
It was the last week of my sophomore year at the University of Colorado Boulder. I had the rest of my life planned out. Halfway done with a biochemistry degree. Medical school in my sights. Dreams of being an orthopedic surgeon for a professional sports team. The mountain house in Vail, the beach home in Laguna, and a white picket fence around each.
I was a brand-new Christian, eager and enthusiastic about all the ways my life was changing.
The guys in my small group and I had just memorized Jeremiah 29:11, perhaps the most quoted Bible verse of all time:“‘ 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.’”
As I walked up to my apartment, I smiled and then whispered a prayer that only God and I could hear.
God, I’ ve been thinking about all the plans you have in mind for my future. And I want you to know that I’ m in. I don’ t wanna miss a thing. I want all of it.
I had no idea how dangerous that prayer was, or that over the next decade, God would ruin every single one of my plans.
Breaking Bad Theology
Jeremiah 29:11 might be the most misunderstood verse in the entire Bible. But don’ t panic. Behind every word, there’ s a rich background of historical context that gives it a specific meaning.
In the Old Testament, hundreds of years
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