Jeremiah 29:10-13, For thus says the Lord:  After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place.  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.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  

Jeremiah sent a letter to the Exiles in Babylon with these words.  God was promising them that after the seventy years of being exiled, He would bring them back to the Promised Land!  I am certain many of them thought, “SEVENTY YEARS?!”  Yes, God is a God of order, and Israel had missed following God’s command that every seven years the land was to have a Sabbath year of rest.  They could harvest anything that grew on its own, but they were not to plant that year.  They didn’t obey, and for every year they missed, they were going to be in Babylon, so the land would be given its rest and the Israelites would know that He is God.  God has a plan, and He doesn’t fly by the seat of His pants like we often do.  There is order in everything, right down to the smallest of details!  He is just so amazing, and the beauty of that is that you can always know that He doesn’t deviate from His plans on a whim, so no matter where you are or what is going on, His plan will stand firm!  He isn’t sitting in Heaven contemplating what to do ~ No!  His plans are sure, they are detailed, and He won’t be deterred from them. You can count on Him to always make a way for His will and plans for your life if you are following Him!  

As you can see in this chapter, that doesn’t always mean that everything in life is going to be easy.  These words came to them when they were in Exile!  If you read the whole chapter, He also gave them instructions for what to do while they were living there.  He told them to keep moving forward, keep following Him, and grow. He didn’t say they were to sit around and mourn the entire time. He told them to continue to marry and have families and work to prosper themselves and the city.  They were to grow in their walk with Him through it.  What might you be facing today that is tempting to just wallow in self-pity or maybe just give up?  Can I just encourage you that God knows exactly what you are facing, and He wants you to seek Him with your whole heart and do those things He has put before you, trusting that He is going to do all that He has said He would do. Spend time getting to know Him more.  Ask Him for the faith and strength you need day by day!  He has a plan, and He wants to use your story!  He promises to give you the grace you need each day.  Don’t live as those who have no hope; ask Him to fill you with hope so you can be a light to all those around you!

These are some of my favorite verses, and the reason they are is because of God’s promises of having a plan for our lives and that if we truly seek Him that He is not so hidden from us that we cannot find Him and get to know Him.  The more I get to know Him, the more I realize how much I don’t know, and it helps me to understand that in the darkest of days, He is there, when my heart is broken beyond anything I could ever imagine, I know He will mend it and that He will be my strength and my help no matter what I need.  In these dark, evil days, we need to dig deep and learn to have faith like we have never had!  We need to really grab on to the fact that our days here are short, so we must fill our hearts and minds with what is important to Him.  Ask Him what His dreams are for your life and how you can serve Him in all that you do.  There are so many lost people out there, we really need to live lives that reflect Him so they are drawn to Him!