21st. June. 2021. Daily Devotion.

¹⁰ This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. ¹¹ 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. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.  I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” ~ Jeremiah 29:10-14

Jeremiah, like Isaiah, was a prophet who was not listened to by the people of Israel and Judah. These verses contain a promise to a people who had failed, and the message was one of hope and restoration. Our personal failures and failings can be seen in the light of Jeremiah. Not only is failure not permanent, but it can be part of God’s plan for our perfection and salvation. No matter how desperate we may feel at our situation in life, God gives us “a future and a hope.” Our plans are made of straw, but God’s plan for us is made of undefeatable spirit. We should never feel despair; our future is assured, even in our failures.

Today is the day to put all sense of failure behind us and look to the future. The past is gone forever, and we cannot change it; but the rest of our lives lies ahead. Let us go forward with confident hope, for God’s plan is our welfare, a promise of total victory.

Lord, let me always find hope in your promise to me. Amen.

Prayer of Praise

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble, I will call upon you: for you will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; and no works like those you have done. All nations whom you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; and will glorify your name.

For you are great and do wondrous things: you are God alone.

Teach me your way, Lord, and I will walk in your truth: unite my heart to fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify your name forever. Amen. (from Psalm 86)

For Perseverance Today

If things get tough today, Lord — and in all hard times — let me stay motivated and calm. Let me look at how far I have come rather than how far I still have to go. Let me continue counting my blessings, not what I’ve been missing. May every day bring new chances to grow, beautiful new things to see, new plans to do, and new goals to pursue, as every new day is Your miracle day. Amen.

Prayer in time of Coronavirus

Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy. Sustain and support the anxious, be with those who care for the sick, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may find comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.  ~ Bristol Cathedral