We can trust God's Heart

Jeremiah 29 (NIV)

10 This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

God is always seeking our best.  And loving God, loving Agape Love, is the best thing for us.  God's Word tells us how to do this.  Trust Jesus and obey Him.  But this is hard to do on our own.  I naturally want to take the quick and easy path of sin to meet my God-given needs.  Sin is fun for a little while, but the problem is that the fun doesn't last long.  And the pain of sin is much greater than the pleasure and can last much longer.  And sin hurts me, others and God.  That's why God calls it sin.  God wants us to meet our God-given needs His way.  And that takes patience for God's timing and trust in His character and possibly some amount of effort.

The beautiful thing is that we don't need to depend on our own strength to follow Him.  If we agree with God that we have had wrong attitudes and actions in the past (sin), if we believe that God the Father raised Jesus, God the Son, back from the dead, and if we surrender control of our lives to the One who loves us most, Jesus promises to meet our needs and give us strength.

And with Jesus in our heart, we will be able to love supernaturally, and God will give us joy.  The way may not always be easy though.  Satan used to ignore me but now that I follow Jesus, satan attacks me much more than before Jesus saved me.

But, Jesus said, "Take heart, for I have overcome [satan].