” 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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will
listen to you. You will seek me
and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 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.” Jeremiah 29:
10-14
The seasons we walk through, the trials we face are all in
preparation for our future with the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not lost or
forgotten, misplaced objects with no use. We are vessels of His glory, where He
displays His image across our hearts. If we had no trials, no desert seasons, and
no storms in our lives, who would we become?
We can rest our lives in God’s hands, knowing He is doing
His best for us. He is a patient gardener cutting off every dead branch that
does not bear fruit. Yes it hurts,
but there is a promise in the end.
“I will be bring you back from captivity.”
is always hope. God wants our eyes to be steadfast and anchored in Him, to not
be swayed to and fro from a worldly perspective, but to have a heavenly
perspective.
How do you walk in this revelation?
James 1: 2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever
you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
James 1:12
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because,
having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord
has promised to those who love him.”
Joseph
M. Scriven wrote a famous poem and was soon was turned into a hymn called,
“What a friend we have in Jesus.” Joseph lived his life for the poor, giving
food and even his own clothing away for the needy. Joseph knew a life of
suffering, as both of his soon to be wives both died the night before to be married. However,
Joseph continued to live his life for the Lord and preached the gospel until
the day he died.
cumbered with a load of care?
and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
walking in seasons of pain and suffering. I watched an old episode of Grey’s
Anatomy the other day. One of the characters in the show needed answers and she
normally does not pray to God, but she was desperate because her brother was
dying.
Trials bring us to the point of
desperation, that all we have left is God and that is exactly where He wants us
to be. When we have no other path to take, but to trust God and let Him lead
the way.
If you are facing trials in your life
right now, take heart. The God who led you into captivity will bring you out. You are not alone, you are not forsaken,
and your prayers are heard. Continue to seek God’s face, for there is a bright
future for you in the end.
“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.”
