Title God's Thoughts for Us
Contents
Hymn: 411 (New Hymn 563)
Meditation: Are you too tired? But have courage. God's will for us is to work together for good.
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: “I know what I plan for you, says the LORD, to give you a future and a hope, with peace and not with evil” (Jeremiah 29:11).
He said in the text, "I know what I think toward you, to give you a future and a hope, peace and not evil." For the people of Israel, the 70 years of Babylonian captivity was a period of great shame and suffering. God tells us to humbly accept those years and lead a normal life in it. It is a situation that God has allowed, so think positively.
God allowed Judas to live because he had been in captivity for 70 years. This is not a disaster, but a way for God to give you peace, and not to despair, but to give you hope for the future.
We need to know that no circumstances given to us are in vain, and there are no coincidences. And this time does not last forever, but ends after 70 years. Therefore, the time of suffering you are experiencing now is not the conclusion of your life. It is just one step towards a beautiful conclusion.
Be patient and turn hardships into opportunities. To do this, we must cry out to God and pray. The blessings of God and the privileges of being his people are only enjoyed when we have a confession of faith in God. We must seek God with our whole heart. Whole heart means "with all my heart." It is not a temporary feeling, but a search for God through the resolution of life.
This is what we can find when we seek God. Restoration is the grace that occurs when the relationship with God is restored. Without thorough repentance, we will perish for our sins.
However, God does not want us to perish, but delights in turning from our sins and living (Ezekiel 33:10-11). Those who do not weep because of business failure or because of my condition, but because of my inner self before God, because of disobedience and disloyalty, are saved. For Judah, Babylon was a time of pain, shame, and tears. The way to get through these great years is to seek God and pray.
Prayer: Believe in God's thoughts for us, and help us to live and overcome even the hardships of life with faith. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Lord's Prayer