Focus

Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for peace at this time.

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Read

Jeremiah 30:12-22 (NRSV)

For thus says the LORD:
Your hurt is incurable,
your wound is grievous.
There is no one to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of an enemy,
the punishment of a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous.
Why do you cry out over your hurt?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
because your sins are so numerous,
I have done these things to you.
Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
those who plunder you shall be plundered,
and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal,
says the LORD,
because they have called you an outcast:
“It is Zion; no one cares for her!”

Thus says the LORD:
I am going to restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob,
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt upon its mound,
and the citadel set on its rightful site.
Out of them shall come thanksgiving,
and the sound of merrymakers.
I will make them many, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be disdained.
Their children shall be as of old,
their congregation shall be established before me;
and I will punish all who oppress them.
Their prince shall be one of their own,
their ruler shall come from their midst;
I will bring him near, and he shall approach me,
for who would otherwise dare to approach me?
says the LORD.
And you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.

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Reflect

Read it all could be the instructions for this passage of scripture today. The early part has bad news: our sin, God’s punishment, feelings of abandonment by friends and allies.

But, read it all, because the passage ends with good news. Through no result of our good deeds (there are none mentioned), God turns matters around and promises to protect us and surround us with God’s love.

Sometimes things look bad early on, but stay tuned. God has a way of improving matters. When you read from the prophets, many of them start out with bad news, but they end with good news. For us, that which shows little promise and no evidence of positive possibilities might just need our persistent faith and vision to see things through to the end.

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Pray

Dear Lord, help us to stay with unpromising scenarios, for you may not have entered into the picture just yet. Amen.

Go with God.