“‘But as for you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring calamity on all flesh,’ declares Yahweh, ‘but I will give your life to you as spoil in all the places where you may go.’”
Jeremiah 45:5, LSB
Have you ever faced difficulty in your life? I think that most of us would answer this in the affirmative. These words given to the royal scribe, Baruch, to be delivered to the king of Judah, Jehoiakim, from God through Jeremiah can speak to us still today because it was affirming to the people of Judah that God was still with them and calling them to faithfulness. Though we may see things around us falling into chaos, we can always trust in God’s Word and can find peace through Him. Our lives are not our own, but we belong to God. We have the hope and promise of eternity in Christ and the redemption that has been bought for us through His sacrifice on the Cross. Our hope is not placed in this world, which will fall away, but in eternity with the new heaven and earth that will come for all who belong to Him. Our calling is to carry out His Word and promise wherever we may go and wherever we find ourselves in life and in the world. Our lives are the scroll on which God writes out His promises, and our tongues are the pens that write this truth on the hearts of all with whom we share it. It is in His promises that we are always to find our hope.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.