The "God's Plan" Fallacy.
Friday Uplift - July 10, 2026
“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 with hope.”
~ Jeremiah 29:11
Fun fact: in the twelve-ish years that I’ve been writing these weekly uplifts, I have only used this verse twice. TWICE.
Surprising, right?
It’s one of “those” verses.
You know, the ones people pull out when someone is going through something.
Or ones people use to back up their individualistic faith with an individualistic God.
It’s what many people assume is the “Biblical proof” for being able to say: “this is all a part of God’s plan.” (Though to be VERY clear, that is a distinctly incorrect interpretation.)
So often, this verse is handed out in the midst of personal tragedy, grief, and/or difficulty - as if the perfect Bible verse will somehow make everything we’re going through all better: “Hey you - yeah you - things are all going according to plan, don’t you worry.”
Sure… that’s what I need to hear when everything is falling apart.
Maybe that’s why I’ve left it alone. It’s such a loaded bit of scripture.
But it’s probably time I come back to it, because people promoting a hyper-individualistic and Christian Nationalist theology as the truth are being lauded and platformed lately and so it seem like a good time for another reminder that the prophet Jeremiah is not writing to one singular individual person, telling them they are going to be blessed at some point in the future. No - Jeremiah is writing to the Israelites living in the Kingdom of Judah, before and during the destruction of the temple. It’s pretty specific. The Israelites were turning away from God and Jeremiah was tasked with telling them how bad it could be if they didn’t return to faith (and then watched it happen when they didn’t). If you’ve ever read Jeremiah as a whole, it’s not the most hopeful book. I mean, how could it be, with a context like that? Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet,” because his prophecy is full of lament and is a bleak picture of the way things could be.
And yet, in the midst of all his gloomy foreshadowing, and even gloomier “I told you so’s,” Jeremiah always makes room for a glimmer of hope.
He always makes sure to note there is another way,
another outcome for this group of people who have fallen so far away from God.
He always reminds them of who they are and how much God loves them,
despite everything.
So when we take this one verse and hand it to someone with a new cancer diagnosis, we’re kind of missing the point.
This is not about God’s action on behalf of one person.
This is about God’s action on behalf of the world,
always working to redeem and renew and reconcile.
When you read it the way Jeremiah intended - it becomes an entirely different verse.
It’s not about how your specific present crappy circumstance is a part of God’s plan for you, (also why would anyone believe in that kind of God?)
but instead it is about how God is always active and working - even within crappy circumstances - to bring new life and healing and hope to the whole of creation, including those who are suffering.
This future that God is actively working to create won’t harm you, even if things are harming you now. An this future that God is creating is just filled with hope.
See how that’s different? And so much better?
God is working on behalf of the whole world which God loves so that our collective future may be full of hope.
That’s stunning. And beautiful. And something I want to be a part of.
And that is a God I want to believe in, even when it’s hard.
So let’s be careful with this verse, Uplifters, and remember that God is working,
right now, on our behalf,
to give us - collectively - life that is good,
so we may be filled with hope.