Jeremiah 31:7-9 (NRSV)
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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
To one walking through a burned section of forest after a wildfire, the entire landscape appears dead, the tree canopy gone, the underbrush a dense carpet of blackened ash. Forest sounds are silenced. Nothing seems to have survived. But that is not exactly true. Hidden underneath that thick ash lie seeds from once fertile trees. Root systems of thick ferns and grasses below ground are still alive. Within a few weeks, the first shoots of those survivors become visible above the ashes. Birds return, small animals begin to burrow, and insects buzz. The forest continues to grow.
When our lives are swept by disaster, it seems everything is hopelessly shattered. Yet, God’s creative power is quietly at work pulling us toward renewal. This is what the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed to a nation uncertain of its future. Even lost in the confusion of destruction and displacement, he proclaims a trust in the re-creating power of God.
Prayer
Holy One, there are times in all our lives when nothing seems to be what it was, when everything we know is gone. In those moments of overwhelming fear, please be close. Help us trust that restoration and repair are central to your promises. Amen.
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