These are the words God gave Jeremiah to proclaim to His people. They were captives in a strange land. Perhaps they thought that the situation was hopeless and God had abandoned them. In the preceding verses, God tells them to seek and pray for the peace of the land in which they are oppressed…effectively to pray for their captors.

Here God reminds me, that though I may not know what God has in store for me, God knows….and He tells me that His plans for me are for peace. I can have confident hope (not a hope-so) in my future. Whatever it is that holds me captive, He promises that He will free me from my captor. He does not promise that the captivity will be short lived, in fact, they would be in bondage for decades. How do I get through this period? Let me call upon Him and seek Him with all my heart, an undivided heart. He promises that I will find Him and He is my great reward. He is my peace.

What an encouragement! An inspirational bible verse that reminds us that even when we do not know what the future holds, we know Who holds the future….and we can trust Him.

Father, may we seek You with an undivided heart. There is none like You Lord, and You declare the end from the beginning.  We thank You that in any circumstance, no matter how hopeless it seems, we can have confident hope in You and in Your promises. Help us to grow in our knowledge of You, that we may know the peace that passes all understanding, that we might know the exceeding greatness of Your power towards us who believe.