Jeremiah 31:7-9 (NRSV)
Read Jeremiah 31:7-9 on biblegateway.com
Verse 7For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, "Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel." Verse 8See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. Verse 9With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Devotion
The sonorous sound reverberates through the still, morning chill. Standing outside our remote cabin on Kroto Slough some 50 air miles northwest of Anchorage, I don't have to guess the "what and where." Trumpeter swans are heading south, dragging our daylight with them. In just a few weeks in Utqiagvik—the town formerly known as Barrow—the sun will set and not rise again for two months! Around Anchorage—although not staged as dramatically as in Utqiagvik—less daylight means more snowbirds, both feathered and human—heading south. Leaving the land of the north. Migrating toward, attracted to, searching for, hoping for warmth—of body, mind or spirit—wherever it is rumored to be.
Not so for God's people! No more aimless wandering, no more searching, no more chasing hither or yon after merely hopeful rumors—for "I will [lead them] in a straight path in which they shall not stumble," says our Lord.
Prayer
Hear, O Gracious God, this song of gladness—my shout-out to you this day. Though I cry, "Save, O Lord, your people," even that cry ends on a note of hope. May that note become my song this day. Amen.