Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Jeremiah 29:10-11 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. 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."
HOPE AND A FUTURE
Do you always see things the way they really are? Have you ever completely misread a situation? Maybe you saw two people glancing at you while talking together. You thought they were cutting you down, only to find out later they were planning a surprise party for you.
In our lives as Christians we don't always see things the way they really are. We bump into one trouble after another and we perceive our situation to be hopeless. At times it looks as if God Himself were against us.
Jeremiah had foretold a grim future for Israel, namely the conquest of the nation and the captivity of her people. For seventy years God's people would be forced to live under the iron foot of the Babylonians. It would seem they had no hope for a future as a nation. God surely seemed against them. But God, through Jeremiah, showed them the way things really were. He said, "I have ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Despite appearances, they did have hope and a future. The people would return to their homeland. The nation would be restored. Most importantly, God would make good on His promise to send them a Savior.
Walk by faith, not by sight. God loves you. God sent His Son to pay for all of your sins. His Son has conquered death and is preparing a place for you in heaven. And, even when all looks to be against you, God is always there for you, making all things work together for the good of His people. In Him you always have hope no matter what. In Him you have a blessed future, here in time, and hereafter in eternity.
O Lord, open my eyes so that I may see things the way they really are! Amen.
