Episode Details

Jeremiah 31:12

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord.

This verse promises God’s future restoration, comfort, and abundant provision for His people, after a time of hardship. God will remain faithful.

Some days we may feel the weight of the world pressing down on our shoulders. Some days the news is full of wars and rumors of wars, natural disasters, fires destroying whole neighborhoods, floods wiping out villages, destroying natural resources, washing away homes, cars, and people, leaving trails of destruction and rescuers digging for survivors. It’s just too much!

No wonder we feel overwhelmed by the scope and volume of the loss and pain that we have no control over. The loss and pain that we pray God to stop. On days like that we need the reminder from this verse – the reminder that God is still with us, and he has promised future restoration, comfort, and abundant provision for His people after the hardship.

In prayer we can drop the weight of the world into God’s hands and recall his promises, while trusting Him through the pain and loss. But it takes much more than our prayer. It takes our actions, our determination, our generosity – resources God has given us to help others in times of great pain.

While trusting God for his ultimate provision, we must serve as His hands and feet. We must generously donate to rescue organizations, aid agencies, and those in need. We can help our neighbors who are in need locally, by generously giving to food banks, homeless shelters, and family support agencies. We can serve generously as God’s hands and feet.

After comforts and provisions are returned to the suffering ones, we can shout for joy with them, as together we rejoice in the bounty of the Lord and thank Him joyfully!

Let’s pray together now…

Dear generous, loving God, please hold close in your Great LOVE all those in harms way, rescue and comfort them and light a fire in the hearts of those of us who are blessed with safety, security, and resources – a fire of generosity and comfort for our brothers and sisters the world over, who need our help. Use us as your hands and feet to help your people through and beyond their hardship, leading us all to rejoice in your bounty.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Today’s devotion was written and read by Bernice Howard.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.