Jeremiah 29:10-14
I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. —Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSVUE)
We have dense scrub at the edges of our property, and feral cats pose a danger to the many native animals and birds that reside here. So we set out humane traps to catch and remove the cats. However, we often find a native animal—perhaps an echidna or a currawong—caught in the trap and awaiting release.
One morning, a trap had caught a powerful Rosenberg’s goanna. As I approached the trap to release the lizard, he opened his jaws wide. Thrashing about in the cage, he hissed and glared at me. He was terrified of me, and every effort I made to release him made him more hostile. After I finally managed to open the trap, I left him alone to find his way out in his own time.
How often do we similarly fail to understand that God’s only intention is to help us? We may fear God’s tender and loving approach and struggle against it because we don’t realize that all God wants is to love us and set us free. As the prophet Jeremiah reminds us, God’s intention is not to harm but to prosper us; to release us from our captivity and from all fear.
Prayer: Thank you, loving God, for your unwavering love for us at all times. Help us to entrust ourselves fully to your love and to remember that your only intention is to bless us. Amen.
Thought for the day: I can trust that God desires only my good.
Dorothy O’Neill (South Australia, Australia)
