Amos and Jonah - Day 6

Read Amos 9

Today's Devotion - Amos 9:13-15

13 "The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills.
14 I will bring back my exiled people Israel;
they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.

15 I will plant Israel in their own land,
never again to be uprooted
from the land I have given them,"
says the LORD your God. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

Each of us will face difficult times in our lives -- some by our own doing and others that just happen. Illness, financial trouble, death of a loved one, unemployment...they will touch our lives either directly or indirectly at some point.

I read an article this morning entitled Everything Seemingly is Spinning Out of Control, which talks about the record low level of confidence Americans have in our ability to achieve our dreams due to current circumstances.

I imagine the Israelites felt the same way. Everywhere they turned they were either hearing or seeing gloom and doom about their future.

But even when God was foretelling the judgement he planned on the sinning nation, he provided hope for the future. Yes, times were bad and were going to get worse, but He promised that we would restore the land to his people and again they would live in a land flowing with milk and honey. He promised that, in time, the land would belong to them forever.

He gives us that same hope. He promises that all things will work out for the good of those who love him, and that we will have an eternity in paradise...all the troubles of this world will fall away.

Isn't it great to know that he always keeps his promises?