“This is God’s Word on the subject: ‘As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.’”
(Jeremiah 29:11, MSG)
Today, our pastor brought up this verse in the Message form of the Bible when preaching against sex trafficking. I had heard this verse a thousand times before, but today, the MSG version spoke to me in a whole new way.
Honestly, I don’t entirely know what I’m doing. I don’t, at this point, even look far ahead into the future. Yet I have, we have, a God who has plans: plans to take care of us, to not abandon us, and to give us the future we hope for.
Right now, that future is blurry. And as I think about the Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu, the future seems to get more and more blurry. As their kidnapping will reach its five year mark in April, it can be hard to believe what has been said and promised concerning their release in Isaiah 62. But this is because I, in my thinking, have left God—the Compassionate, all-powerful, Sovereign God– out of the equation.
He is mighty. He is strong. And for every Christian kidnappee, sex slave, and young person forced to do despicable things, He is working for their good, even through the pain.
He is their God. They are His People. And He does not change (Hebrews 13:8). His plans and promises are just as sure as He is. In the blurriness of this life, He is the only One who remains clear.
With this in view, Jeremiah 29:11 takes on a whole new light— a light that one can rest upon when the world’s circumstances leaves us shaken. He stays the same and plans good things for His people. And that, my friends, is the true reason to Hope.
Do you know Jesus?
Approximately 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ came to this earth to bring people the only Hope there is. Jesus is Hope. Learn more about Jesus here.
Please pray for (get the prayer sheet here)…
- The Chibok girls.
- Leah Sharibu. Learn more about her here.
- Those who have been trafficked.
- Favor, strength and perseverance for those who are fighting trafficking.
Thank you for your prayers!
ISAIAH 62 PRAYER MINISTRY 