Christine Miller – watercress words by Dr Aletha

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hope and a future after COVID-19

A highly contagious respiratory virus, that could spread silently, making people minimally ill or lead to severe illness, prolonged hospital stays, and death-struck fear into some people’s hearts while others minimized or even dismissed the risk.

by Aletha Cress Oglesby, M.D. March 27, 2020November 19, 2021

Planning for a hopeful future

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13, NIV

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This is one of the most often quoted , misapplied verses in the Bible, but the comfort this verse offers is far deeper than the out of context promise often claimed.

This was the context of the promise – it was made to people while God was destroying their nation, tearing down the Temple, and sending them into 70 years of captivity in a foreign land. Families were torn apart, people were enslaved; those left behind in a desolate homeland struggled to survive starvation.

But the promise God gave them was- no matter how bad things were about to get, God had a plan and He would not abandon them forever.

The same God who promised them their suffering would end, and they would come into a brighter future because of the hardship they would experience, is the same God who brings us into the covenant (binding) promises.

Jeremiah 29:11 — graphic created by Christine Miller, A Little Perspective, used by permission

Endurance for the future

I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.
Jeremiah 29:14

No matter what fire we are in, if it is the Lord’s discipline we are enduring, God will bring us into a better future if we allow the fire to purify and strengthen us.