Hope in your future

“A voice was heard in Ramah, mourning and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” Thus says the Lord, “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears. Your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, that your children shall return,” (Jeremiah 31: 15-17).The prophet Jeremiah speaks prophetically, as he says that Rachel was weeping and wailing in deep sorrow because of the loss of her children, Benjamin and Joseph, the leaders of two exiled tribes of Israel. Matthew, the disciple and gospel writer, understood the prophecy to refer to the slaughter of male children in Bethlehem and surrounding areas because Herod feared the birth of Jesus. Herod believed that the birth of the King of kings would mark the end of his reign (Matthew 2: 7-18). The mothers of the exiled tribes and the mothers in Israel understandably refused to be comforted. The Lord makes an announcement; He commands Rachel to dry her eyes and to stop crying. And then, He comforts her. Today, there are many women, and men too, who can empathise with Rachel and the mothers of Bethlehem. Our news media shares with us daily reports of mothers crying because their children are no more. They have lost them to the streets, to seemingly “easy money”, to gang violence, to drugs and alcohol, mental illness, war, famine, drought and disease. These parents may have walked miles searching for clean water in a parched land. They may have pleaded with their children and young people to avoid certain associations because of known, as well as unforeseen consequences. They may have sat by hospital beds, waiting for a miracle. Yet the enemy snatched them and held them captive. The message of the Lord to these grieving parents and carers remains unchanged: dry your eyes and stop crying. God will reward all your efforts in those early years. The Lord specialises in snatching His children from the hand of the enemy.  Sorrow and grief do not have the last word, whether it is the days of Jeremiah, Matthew or today. You may refuse to be comforted, but God will comfort you anyway. God’s promise of restoration means that there is hope in your future.