19 July | EVERYONE
“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. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29: 11-13
Some of the sea has suddenly turned into a cloud of rain. The night becomes fearsome, shaking the already wounded and agitated waves. Then the dying cloud opens, and the full moon appears. Beyond it and the clouds and beyond the infinite constellations is God, directing the destiny of the universe. How to understand His designs? Jeremiah says that His thoughts are of peace and not of evil "to give you a future and a hope."
Sometimes, because of the finitude of our existence, we become impatient or want everything right now. We want things to go our way and immediately; but with God, things are different. He knows what is best and will give us what we expect at the right time.
This is the reason you have to continue waiting on the Lord even if you have the impression that He does not answer. His promise is true if, as we read above, we seek Him with all our heart.
Seeking the Lord with all your heart means going to Him, trusting that He is a loving father, and will not fail to hear the cry of His children. Only then will you say, like Habakkuk: "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. 3:17-18).
Take Action
What is it that worries you so much today? Do not fear or be dismayed, for the God who has “thoughts of peace” for you is with you. He is your strength; He will give you feet like deer’s feet, and He will make you walk on the heights of the earth (cf. Hab. 3:19). Sing “Thoughts of Peace” (if possible, with your family).