A Future And A Hope

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Christ has a glorious future in mind for His redeemed people. The context of our text is the message to the captives in Babylon who were hearing the messages of the false prophets who were promising them an early departure from captivity. Jeremiah was writing to give them a realistic, truthful message about how long they would be in captivity, and how they should conduct themselves while they were there. Because his message was different from the false prophets he gives the captives a realistic encouragement which is our text. These words have a broader application than just to the captives in Babylon. There are many occasions when the people of God become disconsolate because of hardships we are enduring. The reasons for those hardships may be more or less apparent to us. The celebrity preachers have a completely false message calculated to increase their popularity. By contrast, the real message is, we may endure hardships for quite some time. We may not always even understand why they are necessary. What we can know is that Christ is for us. We can know He has a future and a hope for us. Our current circumstances are no reflection of our final destination. Now is the hour of hardship and endurance. He has a future and a hope for us.

Great God of Wonders,
we rejoice that You rule and reign over all things.
We praise You that You will bring us to a good end.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning