Gaining Clarity On What’s Ahead
Pastor Doug Heisel - January 18, 2026
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For 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.”
Steps Into Greater Spiritual Clarity
1. Clarity requires tuning into GOD’S WORD rather than REACTING to earth’s current story.
Jeremiah 29:1 – This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:4-6 – This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.
Application: Anchor your faith in God’s GOODNESS and God’s SOVEREIGNTY, so that you increase your discernment of God’s leading.
2. Clarity involves trusting God’s TIMING. Not everything happens in the same season.
Jeremiah 29:10 – This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
2 Chronicles 36:21 – The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.
Application: REST in God’s timing by seeking clarity over what matters NOW, what’s NEXT after that, and what needs to wait until LATER or maybe not at all.
3. Clarity encompasses three key areas, and all of them matter. His plans involve what He wants to do THROUGH you, FOR you, and IN you.
Jeremiah 29:7 – “Work to see that the city where I sent you as exiles enjoys peace and prosperity. Pray to the LORD for it…”
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For 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.”
Jeremiah 29:12-13 – “Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
Application: Get a journal that becomes a place to capture sacred imagination and inner God-promptings. Write down ideas about what your life could look like five to ten years from now. Use the three areas:
1. In You: Who have you become, and what key characteristics of Jesus define you most?
2. Through you: What have you contributed that strengthens God’s church, reaches more people for Jesus, and defines your God-ordained legacy?
3. For You: What blessings are you enjoying that enable you to be more effective for other God-given dreams and represents the goodness of God in your life?
Over the months ahead, let the Lord bring more clarity as to the what, when, and how.
Life Group Discussion & Questions
BREAKING THE ICE: Did you ever have a dream that either got derailed or broken? What was it and what happened?
DIGGING IN: Many people have quoted Jeremiah 29:11, but far fewer know the history or the verses surrounding it. Begin by reading Jeremiah 29:1-14.
1. Review and discuss point #1. Notice the contrast from verse 1 to verse 4 and who carried God’s people into exile. From an earthly perspective, Nebuchadnezzar did. From a heavenly viewpoint, God carried them. Faith is not denying reality, it’s seeing above it. Talk about where you have trusted God, even when it was hard.
2. Review point #2 and discuss the listed application. Where can you, right now, apply resting in God’s timing?
3. Review point #3 and discuss the three words listed (In, For and Through). Which word is easiest for you to dream about? Which do you need to give more time to? Explain.
BRINGING IT HOME: Review the application under point #3. Start a Dream Big Journal, and create three sections: In You, Through You, and For You. Write some ideas down for all three areas. Then, allow time (and regular review) to bring Godly discernment and clarity as to the “what, when, and how.” This is far more about the adventure of learning to hear God’s voice than any pressure to perform. That said, “Enjoy the journey!”