SWHW Bible Reading Plan: June 2021Sample

Top Takeaway from Sarah Martin:

The words judgment and hope encapsulate the book of Jeremiah. Our reading today brings us to the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy about Israel being enslaved by Babylon. God’s judgment on His chosen people is harsh because of the severity of their worship of false gods and their activities in taking up abhorrent Canaanite religious practices.

But even still, we see hope, kindness, and mercy offered by the Lord. Finding ourselves in the familiar, meme-worthy Scripture that contains the famous verse of Jeremiah 29:11, we see this Scripture is about God’s good hand even when His chosen people blatantly turned their eyes from their One True God. 

We also read in Chapter 29 of God’s command to be all about the welfare of the very city and society He allowed to capture and enslave them. Why? I can’t fully wrap my mind around those clear instructions by God. The only thing I can say is that the Lord is more complex than we can put words to describe His beautiful plans and ways. Might He want to use this moment of judgment and impending hope of rescue to be coupled with instructions for those who know the One True God to be salt and light in a dark land? 

So this is where we find ourselves in the reading today: to note the bigger picture narrative in the Bible. We see God’s judgment and His hope offered. His judgment and His rescue. And, on this side of the cross, as New Testament believers of Jesus, will we not just be Jeremiah 29:11 women, but Jeremiah 29:12-14 women? Taking Scripture in context with the bigger narrative in mind…

“‘Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.’” Jeremiah 29:12-14

Jesus is our hope. He is our prize. He is our future and prosperity. Just as God rescued His Chosen from captivity because of their wayward worship, Jesus is our only way out of the bondage and captivity of sin and death. Today, let’s not stop at seeking what we can get from God, but seek God Himself.

He promises that He will be found.

Lord, today I take You up on Your promise that when I seek You alone, You will be found. Forgive me from my sin that separates me from Your goodness and holiness. Thank You for the Cross, Jesus. I will draw near to You today because I can’t wait to find You and be found in You. Amen.