Pastor's Corner

A Hope and a Future … In God we have enough

“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.”
Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord be with you. With summer behind us we are all set to tackle Fall activities. Susan and I have just returned from a marvelous trip to Ghana, the land of my birth. While there, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, the 10th year of my mother’s passing and my brother’s 1-year death. We distributed 1,200 lbs of new and used clothing, school supplies, toiletries, shoes, bags, backpacks, and over the counter medications etc. I want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to those who made donations. You brought out big smiles from a lot of people.

I was all geared up for fall activities only to be thrown back emotionally with the news that my oldest sister had died suddenly, she died of complications of diabetes (October 15). I will be heading to Ghana for the funeral in the coming weeks.

To say the least it has been a year of valleys and mountain experiences, but in all God is to be praised. God works through the seen and unseen to fill our hearts with His love and hope. We live in a world that sometimes seems void of hope. Wars, famine, pollution, death of loved ones, etc. can cause us to become easily discouraged when we look at the prospects of our future. These could lead to a state of hopelessness.

When we are feeling hopeless, we see our circumstances and surroundings through a filtered lens that can cause us to continue to spiral downwards in our emotions and our attitudes. In this devotional scripture, God says that He has a plan for you, a plan that will prosper you and not harm you, a plan that will give you hope and a future.

While our circumstances may cry out hopelessness, God is saying that He has a plan to prosper and not to harm us. While we don't know what the future does hold, we know who holds the future. We can trust in the goodness of God to care for us in the midst of situations that seem hopeless.

Since the foundation of the world, God has had a plan and purpose for each of us. That plan and purpose was never intended to harm us, but to give us hope and a future. I've heard it said that the future is an opportunity yet unmet, a path yet untraveled, a life yet unlived. How our future will be lived depends on the priorities and purposes of our lives today. The direction we take right now determines where we will end up in the future.

As each blessed day goes by, we have anticipation of what God will do in us and through us. Our future as Christians is as bright as the promises of God. At least that is what I think.

Our hope is not in our circumstances, but in God our Father. That does not necessarily mean that life will always turn out the way we expected, but it does mean that we can always trust in our God to love us and watch over us. If we commit our lives into His care, we are guaranteed from an everlasting perspective, that we will have an incredible future filled with hope awaiting us, that will last forever. For those who commit all to God will see God’s hands in everything.

Years ago, during one of the most difficult moments in my life and ministry, I was so discouraged and withdrawn to my little world. One morning I went downstairs to my study and on my desk was a note that read: “There is no expiring date on God’s promises” signed by Susan, my wife. Oh! How true that is… There is no expiring date on God’s promises to us. His blessings are renewed every morning and great is God’s faithfulness.

If you have ever felt as though you were forgotten by God, or if you have ever been frightened about your future, then God's words to Jeremiah applies to you as well: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:11–13).

Search for God. He has a future and a hope for you too.

Be blessed,
Pastor Samuel King-Kabu

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Roger Kenner & Jette Blair.
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St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal