October 20
Hope for the Future
Read Jeremiah 30, 31.
Key Verse:
Jeremiah 31:33
God’s
people had sinned. They had broken the covenant God made with them. So, the prophet
declares, God’s justice will be served. The people will be punished. Sadness
will be their food night and day.
But that is
not the end of the story! There is hope for your future, Jeremiah tells the
people, because God in his mercy is going to bring the exiles back to
When God
does this, he will make a new covenant with his people, bringing together the
northern and southern kingdoms and making them one again. The new covenant will
not be a covenant of laws and rituals; it will be a covenant of the heart.
The new
covenant will demonstrate God’s great mercy. He will forgive the sins of his
rebellious children and he “will remember their sin no more.”
When I
reflect on what Jeremiah said, I feel like falling to my knees. This was a
magnificent moment in history! God gave Jeremiah a glimpse of the future,
allowing him to see that day when the blood of Jesus would become the only
blood that need be shed for the forgiveness of sins!
Can you
remember a time when you saw little hope for your future? A time when you were
caught in the web of your own sinfulness and wondered if God really cared about
you?
I can
remember such a time in my own life. I had pushed myself relentlessly, trying
to do ministry in my own strength. I had neglected my family to further my own
selfish ambitions. Then, flat on my back in a
During that
time I turned tearfully to the Bible, pleading with God for help. He led me to
read Jeremiah 31, this very chapter. I can still remember how God stirred my
soul as I read:
“Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord.
“They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your
future,” declares the Lord. (Vss. 16, 17)
What God
told Jeremiah long ago, he told me that morning! My despair was lifted! Hope
came into my heart like a rushing wind! I was soon made well and able to resume
my ministry.
What is
more, during all the years since that divine moment, God has been keeping His
promises to me. My gratitude for His mercy remains the sweetest song of my
heart. So I can testify that what Jeremiah promised – hope for the future – is
available still to all who call upon His Name! + + +