Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 29; Lamentations 3; Psalm 130

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

While God’s people were in exile, God sent these words of promise through the prophet Jeremiah, words that remain popular among Christians today. They serve as a reminder that God is planning for our future. Our current season may be difficult, but call on God through the hard times. Come and pray to Him, and He will listen to you; seek Him with all your heart, and you will find Him.

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me. – Micah 7:7

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption. – Psalm 130:5-7

WAIT FOR THE LORD.

To hope is to believe in a possibility. It includes an expectation that a desired outcome will become a reality some day. There is an element of confidence that something can be achieved — faith that God will do what He said He would do. Hope dares to believe that nothing is impossible for God; therefore, all of His promises will come true. So in the meantime, we wait. We posture ourselves in patience, although eager for what is ahead. We allow the hard times to teach us; we allow the struggles to strengthen our faith.

I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord. – Lamentations 3:19-26

I WILL PATIENTLY WAIT FOR HIM.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. – Romans 8:22-25

Lord, in you we place our hope; in you we place our trust. We eagerly await all that you have for us, while patiently waiting for your perfect timing. As we wait, we ask for hope to grow in our hearts and for faith to strengthen our resolve. As we seek you, may we find you; as we cry out to you, we wait for you to answer our prayers. We believe that nothing is impossible for you because you are able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). Replace our sorrow with joy, our anxiety with peace, and our bitterness with love as we wait patiently on you. Amen.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. – Romans 12:12