There Can Be Mercy In Judgment

November 20

"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."
Jeremiah 29:11

The context: God's people were under judgment

God's people had lost their Temple and their city Jerusalem, they were being brought to captivity in Babylon and the Lord had pronounced that they would be there for 70 years. Some of their "prophets" were telling them it wasn't judgment, but that God was going to reverse it. How wrong they were! People are popular when they "speak positive," when they give a message that is "uplifting." But in many cases their words are empty. To anyone under judgment, do not let someone tell you that you can speak it away or wish it away; those are foolish words because they aren't true.

Vs 8-9:
"Do not let your prophets and your diviners
who are in your midst deceive you,
nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
For they prophesy falsely to you in my name;
I have not sent them, says the Lord."

If you've been under judgment, (and judgment begins with the house of God) - understand that even in judgment God gives hope. He won't always reverse the judgment, but to those who will submit to him and confess that his judgments are righteous, they will find mercy and he will give them hope for their future. Even while God's people were under judgment, he was reassuring them that there would be an end to it, and that he will restore them and give them a future.

Not all poverty or afflictions are judgments of God. A person suffering needs to seek the Lord and ask his counsel. Humble yourself before the Lord and get the mind of God on the subject and he will show you how to proceed.