“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.” Jeremiah 29:11
We live in a fallen world that sometimes seems void of hope. Wars, famine, pollution, recessions, etc. can cause us to become easily discouraged when we look at the prospects of our future; discouragement can lead to depression, and depression can lead to hopelessness. When we are feeling hopeless, we see our circumstances and surroundings through a filtered lens that can cause us to continue to spiral downwards in our emotions and our attitudes. In the words from Jeremiah, God says that He has a plan for you, for me and the children in the attached photo; a plan that will prosper you and not to harm you, a plan that will give you hope and a future.
God has a specific plan for the girl jumping rope at the Maniche School that is located in the Les Cayes District. At the moment the photo was snapped, she probably could not tell you what the plan was for her life, but she knows that the Triune God who provides her with a daily meal has something special planned for her, because He loves her.
While the economy may be saying one thing to us, God is saying another; feed my sheep. While your circumstances may cry out hopelessness, God is saying that He has a plan to prosper and not to harm you. While we don't know what the future does hold, we know Who holds the future. We can trust in the goodness of God to care for us and His children in Haiti in the midst of situations that seem hopeless.
Our hope is not in our circumstances, but in God our Father. That does not necessarily mean that life will always turn out the way we expected, but it does mean that we can always trust in our Heavenly Father to love us and watch over us.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you,
Jay