Our Loving Father

Jeremiah 30:10-11
'Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,' says the LORD, 'nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you,' says the LORD, 'to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a full end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.'

"Father, thank You that we don't have to fear, because You will save us from anywhere, and that You will never make a full end to us if we follow You. You correct us, God, as a loving Father, and only in justice, and we need that punishment that You give us, God, to keep us in the right path. Thank You that these promises You made to the Israelites are still true for us today. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

Happy Encouragement Day, by the way!

So God's saying not to be afraid, because He'll bring His people back together from where they're scattered to, they'll have a life of peace, because God is with them. This is all very encouraging.

The second part: God will destroy the enemy nations, but His people are safe. He'll discipline us, but only in justice, because He has to. This version says that he won't let us go unpunished, but other versions word it as 'can't let us go unpunished'.

So how is this encouraging? God will keep us on the right path. He has to make sure that we're doing the right thing. It's not like God's going to just let us do whatever we want here on earth: He will, but He knows what's coming up in our lives and what we need now to handle it later. He is our loving Father: He has to make sure we're doing the right thing.

In His Service,
Joyce