God is Good

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The above scripture is one many Christians love to quote to exhort one another that God has good things in store for us. These same words were part of a letter delivered to God’s people when they were taken captive from Jerusalem into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Amidst their captivity and struggle, God instructed them specifically to build houses and plant vineyards for their sustenance. He further asked them to pray for the peace of the city that had taken them captive because their own peace depended on it. In their moments of hell and high water, they were still required by God to see and act positively in order to thrive.

My prayer and hope for you today is that you begin to see things from God’s perspective regardless of how difficult your situation might be. You don’t need to follow the trends and laws of this world to do well in life. Whether you are inherently a pessimist, optimist, realist or idealist is besides the point when it comes to living out your purpose and walking in the will of God. What is important is that you trust God and His word and stay in sync with Him through prayer, meditating on the word and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

It is important to always be in a place where you are humble enough to seek the Lord. Even when you are thriving, excelling, succeeding according to your desires and the standards of this world, don’t forget that you need God. The above scripture tells us that it is when we call upon God that He will hearken unto us, He will hear us and answer. It is only when we seek Him that we will find Him and we ought to search with ALL OF OUR HEARTS. We have to deliberately and intentionally desire to know Him and commune with Him to understand the depths of His knowledge and Spirit.

The unexpected is only unexpected from our perspective but from God’s perspective it is not unexpected.

Lady Rev. Adelaide Heward-Mills

We have to consciously seek Him in everything we do and no matter the circumstances we face to truly appreciate who He is to us and what He does in our lives. I pray that every moment of our lives serves as an opportunity to know God even better; that we experience Him in more meaningful ways each passing day. Just like He always delivered the people of Israel and took them to their promised land, know that you also are the apple of His eye and He will do same for you if you trust in Him.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The song here expresses this in very few words. It blessed me and I pray it blessed you too. That we all come to that point where our lives continuously proves the goodness of our God.

May your struggles keep you near the cross
And may your troubles show that you need God
And may your battles end the way they should
And may your bad days prove that God is good
And may your whole life prove that God is good

I pray that this encourages you, no matter what you may be going through or where you find yourself, that God cares for you. He loves you more than you can ever imagine and He has your best interest at heart. Just trust His leading through the help of the Holy Spirit every step of the way.

With Love, Esinam.