I Desire to Establish You With All My Heart and Soul

March 28

Jeremiah 32:41 “I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.”

I have been an educator for twenty-nine years.  It’s crazy how fast the days, weeks, and years have flown by.  Over nearly three decades, I have had the privilege of teaching hundreds of students.  I began my career as a special education teacher thirteen years ago, and for the last sixteen years, I have been in the general education classroom.  While there have been a lot of changes in the education system over the years, one thing that has stayed consistent is my desire to help students learn skills.  As a “fresh-out-of-college” teacher, I believed (hoped) that my teaching would result in all students learning the content easily.  After all, I had the newest ideas and I was going to make learning so fun that students would have no problem learning the skills.  

I quickly learned this was not going to happen.  Students have different ways of learning and remembering skills, and what works for one student may or may not work for another student.  Some students can learn (and retain) the material quickly while other students need a great deal of repetition and review before they learn the skill.  Accepting these different learning abilities and styles of students has caused me to be determined to help students learn. It is my desire that students leave my classroom having learned the material presented.   Students who struggle with learning means I need to keep teaching the content - often incorporating other ways to teach it.  I want students to learn the material so that they are prepared for what is still to come in my classroom but also for the rest of their educational career.  I want them to do well, and I push myself to do the best I can to meet their needs so they learn what I am teaching.

This verse captures God’s profound commitment to His people amidst a time of desolation and despair.  Jeremiah shares these words as the Israelites are facing an impending exile.  Through Jeremiah, God reassures the people of His unwavering loyalty and plans for restoration.  God acts with both His heart and soul.  This suggests an intense emotional investment in the welfare of His people.  Despite our past failures, struggles, and sins, God’s promises endure.  He does not - nor ever will - give up on us.  Things may be difficult now.  We may not understand why certain things are happening in our lives.  But, God comes to us again and again reminding and reassuring us of His desire for stability and good in our lives.  This promise is rooted in grace and love indicated by God rejoicing in doing good for us planting us with His whole heart and soul.  What an incredible display of God’s desire and love for us.