As an emergency doctor in London, Laura felt called by God to serve in the war zone in Ukraine. She was privileged to help a man with severe facial scars, which he’d received as his home was burning down. And she was deeply moved by the eight-year-old boy who, whenever his mum felt overwhelmed by the thought of being a refugee, tenderly held her face in his hands. As Laura observed, “Many of the people we met were absolutely reliant on their faith that God was going to bring good days ahead and a good future, like it says in Scripture.”
She was referring to this text: “‘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’” (Jeremiah 29:11).
People often quote this passage but sometimes overlook its particular historical context. Here, because of their sins, God’s people had been exiled from the promised land. God wanted them to obey and trust Him, believing that He would bring them back from the place to which He had banished them (v. 14).
Whether we’re living in times of bounty or feeling exiled and alone today, we can trust God’s promises that we’ll find Him when we seek Him with all our heart (v. 13). Whatever our circumstances, we will indeed be found by Him.
By Amy Boucher Pye
REFLECT & PRAY
How do you think you’d react if you faced the conflicts of war? What does being found by God mean to you?
Merciful God, please reveal Yourself to all those who are suffering because of war. Bring peace and hope, and an end to the atrocities.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
God used the Assyrians and Babylonians to discipline His people for their unfaithfulness (Jeremiah 1:15–16; 5:15–17). Israel was completely destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC, but God wouldn’t allow the Babylonians to destroy Judah completely (5:18–19; 2 Kings 17:18–20). Though Judah would be in Babylon for seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11), God promised He would “watch over them for their good, and . . . bring them back to this land” ( 24:6). Jeremiah reiterated that God would bring them back after the seventy years were completed (29:10). In the meantime, they were to settle down in Babylon (vv. 4–9).
K. T. Sim
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