Focus

As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God in whatever way that may take place.

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Read

Jeremiah 31:10-14 (NRSV)

Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.”
For the LORD has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the LORD.

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Reflect

A young father and his daughter whose wife/mother had just died went on a “get-away” cruise. While standing on the ship’s deck, the little girl asked her father: “Daddy, does God love us as much as Mommy did?”

The father pointed out across the water to the most distant horizon and said, “Honey, God’s love reaches farther than you can see in that direction.” Turning around he said, “And God’s love reaches farther than you can see in that direction, too.” Then the father looked up at the sky and said, “God’s love is higher than the sky.” Finally he pointed down at the ocean and said, “And it’s deeper than the ocean as well.”

The little girl thought about it for a few minutes. Then she said, “Oh, just think, Daddy. We’re right here in the middle of it all!”

God sent Jeremiah to the people of Israel who were in the middle of the most turbulent years in their history. But Jeremiah assured them that they were also in the middle of God’s love. Jeremiah assured them (and us) that God is willing and able to redeem.

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Pray

Forgive us, great Creator of the universe, when we doubt that you are in charge. Remind us that we are in the middle of your great love and, if it pleases you, grant some small sign that you have not forgotten us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Go with God.