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This
is what the LORD says: "At just the right time, I will respond to you. On
the day of salvation, I will help you. I will give you as a token and pledge to
Israel. This will prove that I will reestablish the land of Israel and reassign
it to its own people again. Through you I am saying to the prisoners of
darkness, `Come out! I am giving you your freedom!' They will be my sheep,
grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare. They will
neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun and scorching desert winds will not
reach them anymore. For the LORD in his mercy will lead them beside cool waters.
And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be
raised above the valleys. See, my people will return from far away, from lands
to the north and west, and from as far south as Egypt." Sing for joy, O
heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the LORD has
comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their sorrow. Yet
Jerusalem says, "The LORD has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us."
"Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a
child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on my hand. Ever before me is a picture of
Jerusalem's walls in ruins. Soon your descendants will come back, and all who
are trying to destroy you will go away. Look and see, for all your children will
come back to you. As surely as I live," says the LORD, "they will be
like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.
(Isaiah 49:8-18 NLV). Macy hates suitcases. Macy is our Schnauzer and she's got great radar. That radar goes off whenever Macy starts to see suitcases bring packed. She has learned what that means. Someone who loves her is going away. She runs to the back door and begins to whine whenever it looks as if someone she counts on is leaving her. Chances are, you've never run to the back door and begun to whine. But it could be that you know the awful feeling of someone you've counted on leaving. And you FEEL like going and hiding sometimes! I don't know what the leavings may have been in your life, someone you needed died . . . a marriage partner you pledged your life to is gone . . . friends who have let you down or just moved away. The pain of being left is of the great hurts of life. Out of it can come deep feelings of insecurity, distrust, and worthlessness. And ultimately that hurt can become a deep fear of abandonment . . . the fear that loving again will mean losing again. Every one of us needs some stable relationship where there will never be a goodbye. There is one . . . and you may be ready for it. This is the promise of our reading this morning. If you're tired of goodbyes, this promise from your Creator is loaded with hope for a "never say goodbye" relationship. He says, "I will not forget you." and "I am with you always, even to the very end of the age." Also, "I will never leave you or forsake you." There may have been too many goodbyes. But you have within your reach right now the ULTIMATE relationship with the one Person who will never say goodbye. Trust Him to never leave you. Turn to Him today! |
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