It's alive!

Been a while, so much to say. So I've been reading in Jeremiah for a while, and this morning, I came across a view verses that have meant a great deal in my life. To add a little context, Jeremiah is trying to tell the people of Israel a prophesy that the Lord has given him, and they are not accepting the inevitable fall of Zion (sound familiar to our sporadic feelings of immortality?-- it should!) Israel will not listen. Instead they cry to kill Jeremiah; he is saved, however, and continues to prophesy. False prophets, one namely Hannaniah, come in optimism for the city, and Hannaniah prophesies that he will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. Nonetheless, verse 28:15b-16a says, "Listen now, Hannaniah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made the people trust in a lie. Therefore this says the Lord, "Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth." Verse 17 captivated me this morning, "So, Hanniniah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month." I lingered on the first word, so. So it happened. Many other articles could have been used: And he died, However he died. He died. None of these, so he died. God said it would happen, so it happened. It reflects the resoluteness of the Word of God to carry out His purpose with Israel. This purpose is further carried in the noteworthy verses of the following Chapter 29, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to bring you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and pray you me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart." (29:11-13). When I was a little girl, I went to GA camp (a Christian mission-based camp for girls) and my counselor signed a pillowcase for me and included verse 11-- this was my first introduction to that verse and it instantly touched me, even as a little girl. Ironically, a few years ago, I was a counselor at the same camp for a summer, and you can imagine which Scripture was the theme verse for the summer-- verse 11! Coincidence? I think not. Scripture is amazing that even though one may read a verse numerous times, the Holy Spirit still ministers to us through it-- it's alive, it will still speak! Even now, I am at a time of my life when the future is uncertain, and these verses bring great comfort today. It's funny sometimes that we may trust the Lord with our eternal lives, after our earthly existence, but we hesitate to place our faith in His Providence over the next few years, months, days and seek Him. Psalm 83:16 acclaims, "Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD." What a truth to the essence of seeking the Lord! Fill us with shame, like Israel, that we may seek Your face. Make us less, so You may become great. Fill us with humility that we may boast in You!