Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”
Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.” Lamentations 3:22-26 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Even in the deepest darkest valleys of life, God is there.”
Sometimes life can be hard. Even those who know the Lord well and who serve Him faithfully sometimes go through troubling and difficult times. That was certainly true for the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. He served the Lord long and well, he served sacrificially and at great personal expense. But when it came time for the nation of Judah to be punished by God, Jeremiah suffered along with them.
The short book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah as he sat in dust and ashes amidst the ruins of the city of Jerusalem. The walls had literally come crashing down upon them and all seemed lost.
But in the midst of the devastation and despair, Jeremiah penned these beautiful words of faith and hope. He knew that God was still faithful and that He would bring them through the valley. Even in the depth of what appeared to be total ruin, Jeremiah still experienced the mercies of God every morning. His hope was in God, His faith was in God, and he knew that if he would just wait patiently, in quiet faith, deliverance would come. And eventually, it did. When God’s purposes had been achieved, the nation was delivered from the valley of despair and they once again experienced the blessings of God. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah record that part of the story for us.
Sometimes we all go through deep and dark times in life. That’s just life. It happens to all of us. But God is faithful, He will sustain us in those times and in His way and in His time He will bring us through it. We just have to wait quietly and faithfully as we put our trust and hope in Him.
A life that is truly prosperous in all the ways that really matter includes a faith that is deep and which carries us through the troubling times of life. In the days to come we will talk about how we can change our thinking and restructure our lives in such a way that helps to deepen our faith and improve the overall quality of our lives – even during those times when life is hard.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 