CLING TO GOD'S SURE PROMISE -- Devotional for August 8, from "Good Seeds"

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

A long time ago I bought two brand new matching Bibles for my wife and myself. I used mine in personal study and public ministry until it finally wore out. By that time Karen had gone to a new Bible so I took over hers, which was still in good condition. This was a boon to me, for since all my favorite passages were in familiar locations, I didn’t have to make that unhappy adjustment serious Bible students face when they finally must get a new Bible. But alas, now this Bible is falling apart… literally! (But don’t they say that a Bible that’s falling apart belongs to a Christian who isn’t!?) And so, although this Bible is now in far worse condition than my old one (which I since have lost), I cannot seem to put it aside for a new one, regardless of how many Karen has bought me and urged me to put into service. All this to say that as I pour over the pages of this old and precious His/Hers Bible I relish reading what one or the other of us has written in the margins, whether it be sermon quotes, personal comments, cross-references, or in the case of Jeremiah 29:11, a bit of wistful personal history: (Karen’s handwriting) “August 8, 1979 – this is the verse Jan Bentley gave to me as we moved to Los Angeles and seminary.” That was exactly 30 years ago today. It was tough in those days, as I recall, to go from giving tests (I had taught school for eleven years) to taking them. I remember often saying, half to myself, half to God, “What have I done? What am I doing here? Was this a mistake?” It is when we are most unsure of ourselves that we must go back to the “more sure word of prophecy,” or as in this case, the sure promises of God. Now, just as in the old song, God also says: “I beg your pardon – I never promised you a rose garden!” He doesn’t promise smooth sailing, with skies always blue. He never promised to reveal to us the mysteries of our personal future, nor does He promise us a satisfactory explanation of the miseries of our uncomfortable present. But what He DOES promise more than compensates for what we may lack. Promise #1: I know what I’m doing. God assures us that we don’t have to know all the details, for He’s got it covered. Promise #2: “I have a personal plan for your life.” What He said to us through Jeremiah He reaffirmed through Paul: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Promise #3: Regardless of the dismal outlook, just know it’s going to turn out great for you – so why don’t you try the uplook instead! Now, you don’t have to stubbornly hang on to an old Bible, as long as you tenaciously cling to its promises!