I Know the Plans: The Faith Gap

God has called us to mature beyond skillful listeners of the Gospel. We are called to be not only doers of the Gospel but trusters in Him—particularly in the gap between what we hoped for and what is.His purpose is for us to grow in the character of Jesus Christ. What He desires most is an ongoing relationship with each of us, one that remains alive even in the darkest and most confusing experiences of life.

The Faith Gap

Life in the Gap

Life does not always unfold the way we planned. The hill feels steeper, the breakthrough farther, and sometimes the prayers we prayed seem to be met with silence.This space between what we prayed for and what reality has become is a challenging place. Every one of us who walks through this human experience encounters it. I call it the faith gap—the place between what we believe God has spoken and what life looks like in reality.

Jeremiah’s Word in Exile

Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles (Jeremiah 29) has long comforted many of us with God’s words: “I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”But this promise was not given to people in ease or triumph. It came after a precarious and traumatic season when God’s people were carried into exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 27–28).Before the letter of hope in chapter 29, Jeremiah reminds us:- God sometimes works through even oppressive powers to accomplish His purposes.- Prophets are tested by truth and fulfillment, not popularity.- There are no quick fixes to bypass the pain of exile.

Naming Our Babylon

Babylon is not just an ancient empire. It is the lived reality of human suffering: loneliness, isolation, delayed promises. It is the foreclosure notice.The diagnosis you never expected.The empty chair at the holiday table.The betrayal that breaks your heart.Babylon is when faith collides with life at its hardest edge.

The Faith Gap

So what do you do when the bad thing you prayed against shows up anyway?When the marriage ends.When the job disappears.When the child you raised goes astray.When grief lingers year after year.This is the faith gap. And it is real. Faith does not erase Babylon. Faith does not guarantee we get what we want. But faith anchors us when life refuses to make sense.Faith is not denying reality—it is the antidote to help us persevere through it.

Deborah M. Jackson, MA, MDiv, BCC. PLPC