We need to realize, though, that these declarations don’t make God act or do anything. Instead we read of people declaring the praises of God: “I will declare that your love stands firm forever” (Psalm 89:2).Īnd yet, I do think there is some value in claiming or declaring over ourselves some of the general truths of Scripture, when they are properly understood as actually applying to us. There actually isn’t a lot in the Bible about declaring things about ourselves. But we can’t just “claim” those verses without adequately considering what they meant in their original context. BOTH Jeremiah 29:11 AND Leviticus 26:22 (and the rest of Scripture) are applicable to people today in some way. Now, this doesn’t mean that we can’t apply Jeremiah 29:11 to our lives. We should not just decide to claim one verse and not another simply because one makes us feel good. But we actually shouldn’t claim either of these verses, because God didn’t mean for us to claim either of them. We should not just decide to claim one verse and not the other simply because one makes us feel good. Instead, the verses surrounding this one make clear that this was a warning for ancient Israel, should they choose to disobey God’s commandments.
Like the above verse, we should not assume when God said, “I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children” (Leviticus 26:22), that this was God’s intent for every individual. Yikes! Similarly, when it comes to our lives today, it is possible that God might actually be against a person for a time. Moreover, it wasn’t even God’s promise for Israel for that very day, but for the future, after “seventy years” of exile (verse 10). The Bible makes this clear just a few sentences earlier in verse 4. Instead, it was God’s promise specifically to Israel in the midst of their exile in Babylon. This verse is not a promise for each individual person. We have to consider the meaning of each Bible verse in context to determine if it is a general promise, or if it is something that God intended for a particular person or group of people.Ĭonsider, for example, the often quoted text from Jeremiah 29:11.įor 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.” But all the good things written in the Bible aren’t always God’s promises to us either. Of course we wouldn’t declare such things over ourselves because they aren’t God’s promises to us. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths” (Psalm 88:6)? If it were, then why not declare over yourselfīehold, I will make you small among the nations you shall be utterly despised.” (Obadiah 1:2)? The Bible is not a God-given list of verses to declare over yourself. I am, nevertheless, concerned that many Christians who claim to declare “what the Bible promises” aren’t really declaring things that the Bible promises for them as individuals. While I did give some specific examples of the types of declarations I had in mind, some people responded to me rightly noting that there are some cases where Christians can legitimately declare certain biblical truths over their lives. In a previous post I wrote that Christians should not be declaring and decreeing things over their lives.
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