Church Life

Kindle Highlight Highlights Heart

June 21, 2012 /

I am trying something new this year. After my family bought me a Kindle for Christmas last year, I decided to do my “read through the Bible in a year” plan on it. And, instead of trying to read a certain number of chapters per day, I am just reading the Bible each day like any other book. Whatever I get through in a day in my reading of the English Standard Version is fine. Incidentally, I am already well ahead of any sort of yearly reading plan.

One of the features of the Kindle that I find interesting is that it will show you sections of each book that have been highlighted by other readers many times. I do not know how Amazon decides what is a “large number,” but I often find it interesting to see which sections are popular enough to be featured.

As I have been reading through the Bible, I had noticed that no verse or passage had been “featured” as a popular highlight. Not even “The Lord is my Shepherd!” But, that all changed just the other night. What verse was a “popular” highlight?

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil. (Jeremiah 29:11)

This fascinated me. Here is a verse in an Old Testament book that very few of us ever spend much time in, and yet this singular verse means enough to a large number of people to highlight it.

Sometimes we just need the peace that comes from knowing God’s plans.

While there is no way we can know what was on each person’s heart when he/she highlighted that verse, could it not be true that…

1. People want to know that God has a plan for their lives? If we didn’t know this several years ago, the explosive sales of Rick Warren’s The Purpose-Driven Life should have cemented it into our minds. People want purpose! They want to know that they are here for a reason. That’s why, I believe, if they do not find that purpose in serving God, they will find that purpose in opposing Him. But, since God has put eternity into our hearts, a vast majority of people want to know that their Creator has a reason for putting them here.

2. People want to remember God’s goodness? The plans that God has for us are good! While not all things are good, God is a good God, and He will see that all things work together for God for those who are faithful. When in the midst of struggle, knowing that God’s plans are for good buoys us with hope and joy.

3. People want to know God intimately? The plans are for “you,” God said to Jeremiah. God has a plan, not just for mankind in general, but for each one of us. What a joy it is to know that the all-powerful Creator of the universe has something in mind for me!

QUESTION: Why does this verse mean so much to you?

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Photo credit: michi003 from Flickr creative commons.

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4 Comments

  • J. Randal Matheny

    June 21, 2012 at 9:56 AM

    Adam, this verse is a favorite of evangelicals who seek to hit the bulls-eye of God’s personal will for them, in matters of marriage, career, etc., so I suspect that’s why it was favorited so much. We ought to be careful that we don’t fall into that trap. A great book on this is “Decision-Making and the Will of God,” by Garry Friesen.

    BTW, I was presented with a Kindle for Father’s Day, so if you have any good recommendations, especially of freebies, I’m all ears.

    Next to you in Hermitage …

  • Adam Faughn

    June 21, 2012 at 10:03 AM

    Good point, Randal. This passage is often one of those “name it and claim it” verses, and we need to be careful of misapplying passages in that way.

    As far as books, I just go to the Kindle store and search by price, low to high, then scan free books. There may be a better way to do it, and if there is, I’d love to know it!

  • Tim Archer

    June 21, 2012 at 10:12 AM

    @adfaughn:disqus Seems that most people want to totally ignore the context of this passage. We watched the “Soul Surfer” movie. Good movie, but this was one of two passages quoted in the movie, both completely out of context.
    @Randal John Dobbs regularly posts Kindle finds on his blog (http://johndobbs.com/) and on Facebook. I’ve collected lots of free books; many of them are free for just a day or two.