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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the
season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of
despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were
all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way…-
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Is there no hope? In a generation marked by spiritual darkness and social anarchy, there is still a real hope. Let me share it with you.
This quote is representative of how many view the times we find ourselves living in. Many would look around and say that we have passed the point of no return, that there is no way for our societies to go but downward. And many would cry out that same cry for their personal lives as well. They feel like that there is no hope, no light at the end of the tunnel.
There was a point in the nation of Israel’s history when they felt this same despair, this same hopelessness. But into their despair God spoke a word of hope – and I believe that word for Israel has a present day application to us as well. Let’s look at what He said.
10“For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (Jeremiah 29:10-14)
THE CONTEXT OF JEREMIAH 29
At the time when God spoke these words in Jeremiah 29, Nebuchadnezzar ruled as the king of Babylon (about 600 years BC). Israel had persisted through several generations of the most stubborn rebellion. As a result, God had released His temporal judgments on them in the form of Babylonian captivity.
But even as disastrous as their sin and their subsequent captivity were, Israel had not been forsaken by their God. Yes, it is true that they had been placed under a time of divine discipline, but, Beloved, God’s administration of His correction and discipline isn’t the same thing as rejection. You see, God only disciplines those that He delights in!
THE DISCIPLINE OF GOD
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:12)
…he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)
God disciplines us, not because He is angry with us, but because He delights in us. He disciplines us because He is so committed to us. God does not plan for or desire the destruction of anyone. Our adversary, the devil plots evil, and his strategy is always to harm us.
Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die…? (Ezekiel 33:11)
The Lord is… patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)
…Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
God’s does not cast away His promises for us even when we are living in a season of His correction and under His discipline. Even while Israel was under divine discipline, God revealed to them, through His prophet Jeremiah that they were still on His mind and He still had plans for their future good; not to harm them. Beloved, the promises God gave us before the trouble started are still real, and God will cause us to return to the place of favor and blessing if we respond rightly to His discipline.
THE RIGHT RESPONSE DURING DISCIPLINE
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:8)
If we recognize that God is wooing us, even in times of correction, and we respond to His wooing by drawing near to Him, He will respond by drawing near to us and release His Presence on our heart. We must resist the temptation to give up at all costs. God has promised to listen to us and be found by us when we call upon Him and seek Him with our whole heart, even in the midst of discipline.
Obedience is mandatory. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:11). When it is all said and done, righteousness will prevail, justice will be satisfied – everything will happen just as God as decreed that it will. And every man, woman and child will end up where they chose to end up – as demonstrated by their choices in life. Every man is as close to God as he wants to be. So the question of the hour is not the question of obedience, it is the question of love, affection and our choices.
The response of our voluntary love is what God is after. Does God desire our obedience? Sure He does. But the obedience He desires is one motivated by voluntary love. Love is not truly love unless it is voluntary. The love that each of us has towards God is unique in the way it touches God. God wants all of our hearts entirely; in a very specific way. As we call upon Him, He will make our hearts fully alive in the Holy Spirit. Yes, He will address our areas of wrong thinking and wrong living – but always with the end in mind to stir our hearts towards Him and with filling us with hope.
Beloved, here the desire of God’s heart, respond to His correction and discipline, by saying no to sin, and by saying yes to Him. Therein is the key to hope.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)
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