“I Will Come To Give Rest To Israel”

“At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”

This is what the Lord says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.”

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful. Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit.

There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’”

Jeremiah 31:1-6

I’m hardly a perfect father. But we can have our moments when we know our children really love us.

How many of us know in our hearts that we are loved by a Father whose affection for us is limitless? Sometimes we wonder if our Father really loves us. But in Jeremiah 31:3, the prophet reminds us of what God has said: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

We long for unconditional love. Yet the wounds, disappointments, and mistakes we experience can make us feel anything but lovable. But God opens His arms – the arms of a perfect Father – and invites us to experience and rest in His love.

No one loves us like our Father.

Our Daily Bread – June 15, 2018