“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

In February of 2020 I headed to a shelter in Kansas where several Persian cats had been dumped. I had been praying about getting a new kitty and asking God to guide the way.

When I arrived, the first one I saw was named Michelle. I went and looked at the others but was drawn back to Michelle. Kind of an odd name for a cat, but it’s my middle name. I picked up this sweet little girl who wanted nothing to do with me and cried to be put back in her cage where she could huddle in the corner and feel safe.

She was incredibly sick and in a strange place and had just been “fixed” as well. I filled out the paperwork and paid my fee, placed her in the carrier and we were on our way home. During the little over an hour drive home, she made her displeasure known. It was not just a meow, but a cry and a meow, as if she was saying, “I do not feel safe and I don’t want to go with you. Take me back, take me back…”

I kept telling her I was taking her someplace even more amazing than where she’d been and would provide her love and security, comfort and medicine to feel better.

Once home she still fought her new journey and path. She hid and she cried, and she was tentative about whether this new home and life would be safe. I renamed her Mia, and now, almost four years later this is Mia.

She loves to cuddle, gets to eat whenever she wants and watch YouTube cat videos. She didn’t know that the uncomfortable journey was leading somewhere amazing. She couldn’t see what her new life would hold because her life hadn’t held that yet. She had been starved, traumatized, and not taken care of so she couldn’t imagine feeling loved.

How often do we do this with God? We’re on an uncomfortable, sometimes incredibly long journey somewhere, and it doesn’t make sense to our human minds at the moment. We cry, we scream, we feel let down, scared, anxious, and we can’t see what’s up ahead.

We can’t see the amazing things He has for us here, but we also lose sight of the amazing things we can’t imagine of what heaven will be like. No more crying, no more pain.

I don’t know what journey you’re on today, but I know what God has been sharing with me. You may feel like you’re on the road to nowhere or that it’s taking forever to get there, but hold on. Keep taking one step at a time, and one day you’ll realize God was leading you somewhere He planned all along.

We find the same situation in the Bible in Jeremiah 29. Jeremiah, the prophet, wrote a letter to those who had been captured and taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. He gave them the word from the Lord that reminded them after 70 years are completed at Babylon, He will visit them and perform His good work toward them. He caused them to return to this place.

“For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future, and a hope.” Jer. 29:11

God knew the future and He knew the plans. He knew though it would be a rough time and it would be 70 years, He promised to come through. He promised the path was going to lead to peace and hope and not evil. God knew that this would cause the people to go and pray to Him and listen to Him. To seek Him when they sought Him with all their heart.

The same holds true today. God’s promises still hold true.

I don’t know what long path you’re on and how hard it is, but I know the ending to the story. Whether on earth, I know for sure in heaven, all will be made new, and there will be no more crying or pain. So, hold on, and I promise, just as even my cat found out that the hard journey would lead to something beautiful…Yours will too.

Father God,
Help me see the path you have me on will not last forever. Help me hold onto the hope I have in you. Help me trust You will provide, and guide, and You will lead me. Walk with me step-by-step. Be my strength and my hope. When this journey seems excruciatingly hard, remind me to just take one step at a time and let me know the plans are to prosper and not to harm, but to give me hope. Thank You for being my hope and my strength.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

© 2024 All Rights Reserved. Susan M. Clabaugh with Encouragement in Daily Living LLC

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