Isaiah 32:8

We know not the plans the Lord has for us but that they are to prosper and not perish(Jeremiah 29:11). This passage from Jeremiah has followed me for the past few years in my walk with Christ. Only recently have I truly begun to understand this most true piece of scripture. As many of you know I am at seminary and from my desk in the dorm I am writing this reflecting on the journey thus far. I have been called to first have the courage to leave my family who I love dearly to attend Lutheran Southern. For anyone who has moved you may understand what I have been experiencing. This experience at first was a bit scary with the fact that I was being thrown into a new environment, meeting new people, living with these people who I have never met before. I am now getting accustomed to Columbia and the surrounding area. It could be said that my bearings are being fixed within my new environment. With this said my reflections and meditations have revolved around the usual for many people i.e. money, settling in and overcoming the distance between myself and loved ones. In these reflections Jeremiah 29:11 has come full circle in my walk with Christ. Tonight while doing my bible readings I came across Isaiah 32: 8 "But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands." In this section Isaiah is portraying what will overcome the oppressor nations during his time and thus imaging or shall we say forseeing God's glory and what will come. Verse 8 seems to be of minor relevance to the section of verses 1-12 however it can speak towards how one should act in our modern world. That we as Christians and as Lutherans are called to be noble and yet humble in our actions. We must take in account what we have and thank God for how much we do have and how little we do have. The greater is that of our worldly possesions the lesser is that we are still and always will be trying to understand our purpose for God and our lives in him and our Lord Jesus Christ. I offer this insight up for all those who may feel that hope is lost at times and the odds are stacked against them. I pray that you will not give up hope but instead let go and let God. Trust in him, mind your actions from the smallest task to the largest and know that God is God and we are his.
Amen!