" 'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.' "
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Focus on Better Days
We often look ahead to better days. We say things like: "If I can just make it until Christmas break, then I won't have to go to school for a while and things will be better." Or, "if I can just make it through this bout of pneumonia, then I can go back home and be healthy again." So much of our lives are spent looking ahead to better days.
To make matters worse, in this sinful world we are surrounded by wickedness and evil. Sin and temptation are on every side. It's exhausting to be a Christian. And so we find ourselves looking ahead to better days–days when sin will no longer be a part of our existence and we can enjoy perfect peace in heaven.
But waiting for those better days is difficult. If we are honest, we see how the sinful world is rubbing off on us. We find the sins of this world to be a little more "normal" than they used to be. We become more accepting of things that God despises. Our attitudes towards wealth and possessions begin to match the attitudes of this world.
God says through Jeremiah: "I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land." Jesus is the Branch who came to this world and lived a perfect life in our place. He also did what was "just," as he gave himself in our place to suffer and die for our sins. He bled…He suffered…He died. God’s justice was satisfied. We are forgiven! The Branch brings righteousness–righteousness that he earned and freely gives to us through faith.
Dear friends, whatever you are experiencing now, know that in Christ, better days are here and better days are yet to come. Jesus makes each day a better day through his gift of righteousness. Better days are coming when he will take us to be with him in heaven. Lift up your heads and look for those better days.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for the promise of better days to come in heaven. Keep my eyes focused on those better days to come, and help each day to be a better one with you and your Word. Amen.
This devotion was selected from the Daily Devotion archive.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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