Day 2008 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

I'm betting you all have noticed, but just in case you haven't, this year has SUCKED!!! It's like each month has been this exciting new ride at this horrible theme park where everything goes wrong. Just when you think you've managed to get through one storm, here comes the next that nobody saw coming. I think we can all agree that this has been the craziest, most unsettling, and down-right shocking year in recent memory. And through it all, we all just keep trying to hold on to hope.

Reading through Jeremiah last night and this one always just sticks out. It's one of those amazing verses that pretty much everyone knows by heart at this point. And the fact that this amazing promise is found in such a dire time is what makes it so powerful. Let's face it, life ain't no picnic. It's a battle. It's this nonstop struggle most days. It's a constant fight just to keep our heads up and keep trying to move forward.

But when you take it all through the hope that God is still in control and His amazing promises haven't changed, then it makes it all a little easier to weather. Doesn't make it go away. Definitely doesn't make it go by any quicker. But it gives us just enough hope that the best is still ahead and He's going to get us there even if it seems impossible. It's often hard to imagine that something good can come out of these tough situations we face, but it can. And when God's calling the shots, it will!

It would make it so much easier if life was just simple. But it wouldn't teach us anything. We wouldn't have the same opportunity to grow that the hardships we face give us. Simple and smooth is fine, but we get so much more out of those days where we have to scratch and crawl just to keep going. They help us see how tough we truly are. But more importantly, they help us see just how faithful God really is.

And friends, He is truly faithful. His promises for us will never change. They will never fail. The best is still ahead because He is still God, He is still working, and He is still in control. So all these hardships and trials we're facing don't get to tell the whole story. They're not the end of us, just the beginning. They don't determine how this story goes, they just help us get some hard lessons out of it. So don't get lost in the rough times in life. They're not there to destroy you. They're simply there to help you see that God won't let you be destroyed!

So cling to Him. Hold as tightly as you possibly can. Never let your faith and hope in Him be shaken out of your grasp. He will get us through this year of insanity just as He's gotten us through all the other weird and hard times that we've faced. All we can do is hold tight and trust that He's still working all of this around for our good. That's a promise that we can always lean on because He will never fail to be the good good Father that He is!