Jeremiah 29: 11-14

1. A COMMA INSTEAD
OF A PERIOD
JEREMIAH 29:11-14
Bishop Genesis T. Udang

2. • (Jer 29:11-14 NIV) 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. {12} Then you
will call upon me and come
and pray to me, and I will listen
to you.

3. • {13} You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your
heart. {14} I will be found by you,"
declares the LORD, "and will
bring you back from captivity. I
will gather you from all the nations
and places where I have banished
you," declares the LORD, "and
will bring you back to the place
from which I carried you into
exile."

4. The Suicide of
Robin Williams

5. Periods and Commas serve two
Important Jobs.
• A period serves to tell us to stop,
or that we at the end of a thought.
• Commas serve as an inflection,
for us to pause. It serve to remind
us that more is yet to come, that
the thought is not finished.

6. WHY DOES GOD PUT A COMMA
INSTEAD OF A PERIOD IN OUR
LIVES' STORIES?
• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL
WHAT HE PROMISED - JOSEPH
GENESIS 37

7. BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL
WHAT HE PROMISED
• The Jealousy of his brothers
• The Pit
• The Slavery
• The Prison cell
• The Forgetfulness of a Friend

8. But none of these were
able to stop the
promise to be fulfilled,
Joseph in God’s time
became the Prime
Minister of Egypt.

9. WHY DOES GOD PUT A COMMA
INSTEAD OF A PERIOD IN OUR
LIVES' STORIES?
• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL
WHAT HE PROMISED - JOSEPH
GENESIS 37
• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FINISH
WHAT HE STARTED - JONAH Jonah
:1-4

10. BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FINISH
WHAT HE STARTED
• He deliberately dis-obeyed God
• He took a boat ticket for Tarshish and
not for Nineveh
• He ended up in the middle of the
storm
• Thrown into the sea
• Ended and lodged in the whale's belly
for 3 nights
• Delivered shore to shore to Nineveh.

11. WHY DOES GOD PUT A COMMA
INSTEAD OF A PERIOD IN OUR
LIVES' STORIES?
• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL
WHAT HE PROMISED - JOSEPH
GENESIS 37
• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FINISH WHAT
HE STARTED - JONAH Jonah :1-4
• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO ESTABLISH
WHAT HE PLANNED - JOB 1

12. BECAUSE HE WANTS TO ESTABLISH
WHAT HE PLANNED
• God made a wonderful plan in
the life of Job.
• A prosperous life
• A wonderful Family
• A successful business
• A godly heritage
• A life of influence

13. • Destroying his businesses
• Killing his livestock
• Killing his children
• Condemnations from friends
• A variety of incurable
diseases
• A sarcastic and discouraging
remark of his wife

14. • (Job 2:9-10 NIV) His wife said
to him, "Are you still holding on
to your integrity? Curse God
and die!" {10} He replied, "You
are talking like a foolish
woman. Shall we accept good
from God, and not trouble?" In
all this, Job did not sin in what
he said.

15. • (Job 42:11-13 NIV) All his
brothers and sisters and everyone
who had known him before came
and ate with him in his house.
They comforted and consoled him
over all the trouble the LORD had
brought upon him, and each one
gave him a piece of silver and a
gold ring.

16. • {12} The LORD blessed the
latter part of Job’s life more
than the first. He had fourteen
thousand sheep, six thousand
camels, a thousand yoke of
oxen and a thousand donkeys.
{13} And he also had seven
sons and three daughters.

17. • (Prov 3:5-6 NIV) Trust in the
LORD with all your heart and
lean not on your own
understanding; {6} in all your
ways acknowledge him, and
he will make your paths
straight.

18. • The next time you feel like God
can’t use you and establish
His plan for you, just
remember...
• Noah was a drunkard.
• Abraham was too old.
• Isaac was a daydreamer.
• Jacob was a liar.

19. • Leah was ugly
• Joseph was abused.
• Moses had a stuttering
problem.
• Gideon was afraid.
• Samson had long hair and was
a womanizer.
• Rahab was a prostitute.

20. • Jeremiah was too young.
• David had an affair and was
a murderer.
• Elijah was suicidal.
• Isaiah preached naked.
• Jonah ran from God.

21. •Naomi was a widow.
• Job went bankrupt.
• John the Baptist ate
locusts.
• Peter denied Christ.
•The Disciples fell asleep
while praying.

22. • Martha worried about
everything.
• Mary Magdalene was, well you
know.
• The Samaritan woman was
divorced, more than once.
• Zaccheus was too small.
• Paul was too religious.

23. •Timothy had an
ulcer...
•Lazarus was
dead!