Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them;plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.... 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.--Jeremiah 29:4-7,11
To My Beloved Daughters...
This one is so important! What do you do when you find yourself in a very unpleasant and distressful situation. A situation that brings on feelings of fear, uncertainty, discontentment, grief, or a longing for the past and how things used to be? A situation that may or may not be permanent. What do you do? How do you react?
Now I hate not to have things go the way I want them to or the way I think that they should. I just hate it! I complain and kick against the goad...sometimes for a very long time. I even think I might be surrendering to the situation, but..you know...really I am not. Focusing on what you are not getting and what you don't have will ALWAYS make you miserable. You will be miserable to be around and you yourself will be miserable because you will be thinking of yourself rather than the Lord and those around you. Complaining is sin...you are telling the Lord that the situation He has lovingly prepared for your good is not good.
Do you see what God told His people to do in the very distressing situation they found themselves in...He tells them to accept it and move ahead. He tells them to adjust, pray and keep moving. Wait Lord...accept it...but I haven't finished complaining about it yet. Give me some time. I just want to sit here and be miserable.
Don't allow your life to grind to a halt because you find yourself in a situation in which you never expected and never wanted. Life, more often than not, brings terrible tragedy. Job loss, betrayals, family problems, marriage issues, sickness, chronic illness, debilitating pain, and death. We do grieve...but we do not grieve as those who have no hope. If you are a believer whatever situation you find yourself in is from Him. He will use it for good in your life. This is what we want...we want His plan for our lives. His plan for us is from His heart of love. It is always for His glory and our good. Don't miss out on any of the blessings by complaining about what He has decided was not in your best interest. Surrender to Him. Do those works that He has put in front of you today. Adjust and keep moving. Plant seeds...follow His leading. Stay close to Him and above all immerse yourself in His word. Let sitting at His feet and worshiping Him be your highest priority...give Him all the pre-eminence.
The Lord allows us to be in very hard places sometimes because He wants to accomplish His will in us and through us. Our Lord is faithful, girls. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is always there....if you don't think so it is because you have drawn back and moved away from Him. Abide and surrender. The Lord will be your rear guard...The Lord will hedge you behind and before and will keep His hand on you. He will provide you a way of escape...seek Him...He IS your way of escape, your strong tower and your refuge. Revel in His goodness. Don't look back...press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Be blessed and comforted in His love, grace and kindness toward you in His Son.
Psalm 84:6-7 says this: As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.
Girls...this is what I want as I go through my Valley of Tears here on my earthly pilgrimage. I want to make it a spring...I want to surrender to His Spirit inside and trust the All Sufficient One in my time of trouble. I want my journey to encourage others in their own walk with the Lord. We all need times of barrenness and trouble to grow strong in Him. Strengthen your inner man by spending time with God and you will begin to see your adversity as an opportunity from Him to experience His faithfulness even more. Sing in your time of sorrow. Triumph in tragedy. Look for the rainbows. Our Lord will bear you up on wings like eagles. Immerse yourself in the water of His word, girls, and go from strength to strength on your own journey to Zion.
