YOUR WEEKLY MEDITATION
with the Pastor
THE BEST IS YET TO COME
"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).
Living in this world involves a series of endings and beginnings. Think of it - graduation, superannuation, death, giving birth, medical examination, preparing a meal, a surgery, sowing seeds - all have beginnings and endings. Each end ushers in a new beginning. Consciously or unconsciously we have our endings and our beginnings. Our attitude and approach to the ending is largely determined by our anticipation and expectations of the beginning or next step, and our expectations of the next experience influence and determine how we approach the end. "The end of everything is the beginning of something". So said the Rev'd Jim Parkes at the Valedictory Service of the Morant Bay High School on 22 June 2011.
We are approaching the end of a Connexional Year and, God willing, we will begin a new one in September. Some ministers are approaching the end of their journey in the present station and will begin a new journey in September. Some ministers are ending their journey in full work and a new experience called superannuation or retirement commences September. Some children, spouses, members, adherents, neighbours and friends will experience endings and beginnings. Some persons will be starting a new job, new school, new class, new teachers. Unfortunately some will remain unemployed and some will lose the job they had. The future looks bleak and hopeless but do not lose hope.
In 597 B.C., the Babylonians began to deport the Jews to Babylon. Jeremiah's letter to the exiles helps us understand how we can make the best of a beginning. Accept it. Live as normal a life as you can and put up with inconveniences without complaining. Try to be a blessing to others. Be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. Be patient. God has the timing all worked out, and God's plans never fail. God knows how long and how much. Trust God. Verse 11 is a powerful promise to claim when the beginning is like "going into exile". Remember, God thinks about you personally and is planning for you. God's plans are for peace, not war, so you need not fear the future.
As you face an ending or a beginning today take the words of God to the Jews as your own. God told the Jews "For I know the plans I have for you, . . . "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Remember that "Though we pass through tribulation, All will be well; . . . Happy, still in God confiding, Fruitful, if in Christ abiding, Holy, through the Spirit's guiding, All must be well".
Thought:
Approach each new day expecting it to be the best.
Prayer Focus:
Those who are facing an end without hope of a better future.
© Everald Galbraith, 2011.