Faithful in Captivity | Jeremiah 29
Welcome to Real Life . It (real life) is not always easy! It is a poverty of imagination that bankrupts hope. –Ann Voskamp, Waymaker I was a young wife, not yet twenty, when my husband abandoned me. I was devastated. All my hopes and dreams for the future had walked out the door. Then one day in church, I heard this promise and clung to it. “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 The Lord made this promise to his people at a time when they were devastated. All their hopes and dreams—their homes, nation, house of worship—everything was gone. Israel had turned away from God and committed idolatry, even sacrificing their children to foreign Gods. [1] And so, God removed his protection and brought judgment. He allowed Babylon to destroy Jerusalem and lead his people away as captives. The Flight of the Prisoners (1896) by James Tissot Though they cried out to God in the...