40 Days in the Word - Power of the Word Sample

Theme | I Will Give You A Future And A Hope

From | Shane Martin

Verses | Jeremiah 29:1-29, Ephesians 1:4-5, Colossians 1:27, 2 Peter 1:3-11

You’ve made it to the final few days of our Bible Reading Plan. As we finish our reading plan, we are going to take hold of God’s promises of blessing and favour for our lives.

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At first glance, many of us may look at Jeremiah 29 and gravitate straight to verse 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."

It truly is a powerful declaration from God to His people.

However, if we look deeper, we see that God's people at that point in time were not in a great place. They had been exiled, waiting on God's deliverance once again. The answer: well… it was not tomorrow, the next day or even the next year!

It was to be some 70 years later, exiled from their homeland, before God would bring them home. There have been many times in my family's life, things have not gone to plan. Finances, relationships, health, career - the list can go on, and I'm sure if you are a human reading this you have your own lists as well. A little further in the chapter God actually gives insight as to what to do in a situation like this in verses 12 and 13, "Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."

Have you ever been in a situation in your life where you felt abandoned or isolated…waiting on answers for longer than you planned to? God's promise is found in verse 11 - You are not forgotten, you are not abandoned, God has plans (plural) for you, He is your hope. God's leading is found in verse 12 - hold onto the word of who God is, pray and seek Him, and lay it all down at His feet.

I have found it tends to be in the unplanned moments of life that we have a unique opportunity to hold onto the promises of God's Word and, more importantly, the God of the promises. Be encouraged, Christ follower, that our inheritance and our promises are never disconnected from our relationship with Jesus. And in Jesus, we will always have a future and a hope!

Prayer | Lord, we give You our unplanned situations, our not-yet-answered prayers and our unanswered questions. We thank You that Your plans for us are to prosper us, to heal us, and to give us hope and a future. We choose to seek You today and give You all our heart as we study Your word. Thank You for Your ever-present presence in our daily lives. Amen.