"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

Our experiences of loss and disappointment may leave us feeling angry, guilty, and confused.  Whether our choices have closed some doors that will never reopen or, through no fault of our own, tragedy has invaded our lives, the result is often what Oswald Chambers called "the unfathomable sadness of 'the might have been'."  We may try to suppress the painful memory but discover we can't.  Chambers reminds us that the Lord is still active in our lives.  "Never be afraid when God brings back the past," he said.  "Let memory have its way.  It is a minister of God with its rebuke and chastisement and sorrow.  God will turn the 'might have been' into a wonderful place of growth for the future."

The Lord's forgiveness can transform our sorrow 
into confidence in His everlasting love.

In Old Testament days when God sent the people of Israel into exile in Babylon, He told them to serve Him in that foreign land and grow in faith until He brought them back to their home.  

God urged them not to ignore or be trapped by events of the past but instead to focus on Him and look ahead.  The Lord's forgiveness can transform the memory of our sorrow into confidence in His everlasting love.

Prayer for Today

Father, thank You for Your plans for us, and for the future that awaits us in Your love. Amen.