There is hope for your future

There is hope for your future, says the Lord
(Jeremiah 31:17)

We have recently elected a new government whose electoral message was ‘A time for change.’ People have pinned their hopes on this government to improve national life in many areas including the NHS, social care, our infrastructure etc. The challenges confronting the government are formidable. They have continually stated that improvements will take time, so we must be patient. Our government announced a long list of laws and improvements they plan to make in the King’s Speech to Parliament.
 
Jeremiah lived at a time of crisis for his nation of Israel in the latter part of the seventh century and the first part of the sixth century BC. During his long ministry he warned God's people of the catastrophe that was to fall upon the nation because of their idolatry and sin. He lived to see his prediction come true with the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, the destruction of the city and the temple, and the exile to Babylonia of Judah’s king and many of the people. He also foretold the eventual return of the people from exile and the restoration of the nation.
 
Jeremiah was a sensitive man who deeply loved his people, and who hated to have to pronounce judgement upon them. In many passages he spoke with deep emotion about the things he suffered because God had called him to be a prophet. The word of the Lord was like fire in his heart - he could not keep it back. Some of the greatest words in the book point to Jeremiah’s own troubled time to the day when there would be a new covenant, one that God's people would keep without a teacher to remind them, because it would be written on their hearts.
 
Our nation voted with a slim majority to leave the EU based on a raft of promises and predictions of boundless future prosperity. I have asked many people if any of these predictions have come true, without answer. I feel we are struggling to re-invent our identity as a nation outside the EU.
 
Kier Starmer loves this country. He is committed to increasing our prosperity to pay for all the improvements he and his government have planned. Challenging choices must be made between competing sets of priorities. He and his Cabinet will need ‘the wisdom of Solomon’ and our continual prayers.
 
Many of our athletes who will be competing in the Paris Olympics have taken on significant challenges. The England men’s football team took on the challenge of the Euro competition recently. Against all initial predictions, based on their first matches, they reached the final. Gareth Southgate took on the challenge of managing the previously demoralised England side and achieved consistent, significant success.
 
Like Jeremiah’s time, our nation faces many challenges from within and from without. We must pray for ways to keep our hope in God alive in the face of what may feel like the insurmountable challenges we face personally, nationally and internationally.
 
The picture above shows we must pass through the mists of uncertainty trusting in our Good Shepherd, to reach and rejoice in the dazzling dawn of fulfilment.

Image by Ruslan Sikunov from Pixabay