The HOPE HE Gives

From Jeremiah 29:

1 This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

10 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. 11 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 on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 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.”

One definition of hope is “to desire something with confident expectation.”

That is what the Christian life is about. In the midst of chaos, turmoil, conflict, sorrow, and all the many other delights of Satan, we have HOPE…that confident expectation that ultimately, because of Jesus Christ, we will have the desires of our heart.

What are the desires of your heart today? Are they in line with what God wants for you? Many times in life we get so caught up in our worldly desires (which tend to be self-centered) that we plow ahead and make plans to satisfy these desires without stopping to seek God’s will (plan) for us. Jeremiah 29:11 is a beautiful reminder of God’s plan for us and the hope His plan offers us.

How do we discover His plan for our life? The answer is found in Verse 13 along with His beautiful promise in verse 14. Seek HIM earnestly every day!  Seek HIM during this season of chaos with the hope HE promises!

Prayer:  Dear God I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the HOPE I have in YOU!