"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (hope in your latter end).

12- "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

13- "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

14- "And I will be found of you, saith the Lord; and I will turn away your captivity..." Jeremiah 29:11-14

I LOVE these verses! They give hope as few others!

First of all, God is promising that His thoughts towards us are good, not evil! He wants only to give us hope!

Then He promises that whoever seeks Him earnestly, with all his/her heart, will definitely find Him. This tells us to keep going, to persevere, in our quest to know Him. He says that He WILL be found of us AND that He will turn away our captivity. Our captivity to sin, to sorrow, to fear, will all be banished as we find our Lord.

Let's not cease in, as v.12 admonishes, calling upon God and praying to Him. The verse promises that He will hear us!

How true! We are not only captives to sin, but along with that comes all the results of sin in this world. We DO find ourselves going through times of sorrow -- not always of our own making! There are times when we ask, Where were you, God, when this was happening? And the answer comes back, "I was right there with you all of the time. It is just that you didn't look for Me!"

Beryl