Isaiah 22:13 caught my attention in today’s reading, But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” The people of Israel said “Let us eat and drink” because they had lost hope. They should have taken the time to repent, but instead they decided to live it up and have a party. In the end, they did this because they did not trust in God. When we have a problem, we must turn our attention to God and trust in Him. The most common response to hopelessness is despair and over-indulgence. But this life is not the end of our story. Our response should be to trust in God and His promises.

While this verse is often taken out of context, we all love the implications of what God says in Jeremiah 29:11 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. Knowing God has a perfect plan for our lives comforts us. It gives us peace knowing He has no intention of allowing harm to come to us. Ultimately, God wants us to move forward and push for the future, not for us to look back at the past and dwell on out mistakes and missteps.

Even when we sin against God, He still looks out for us. In Jeremiah 24:6 it says, My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. Our struggles are not a surprise to God. Though He never abandons us, He may choose to leave us where we are for a greater purpose. In the end we must trust that God has a perfect plan.