Good evening.  Tonight, as we begin a new year, we are going to take a look at finding encouragement for life.  As we begin, I have a few questions to ask you to consider.

1.      Do you feel like you are a prisoner?  If so, how are you a prisoner

2.      What is your purpose in life?  If you don’t know, does that mean that you lack purpose in life?

3.      Do you ever feel like God is not there, or that He has left you?  If so, when do you feel that way and why?

Well, if you have your Bible’s with you this evening, go ahead and turn with me to Jeremiah 29:10-13.  In this passage, we will find encouragement for life.

As you are turning there, I will go ahead and open us up with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

In Jeremiah 29:10-13 it says, “1”

If you could live your life over, would you do anything differently?  If so, what?

Well, I think that as we take a look at tonight’s idea of finding encouragement for life, I would try and give more praise to the people around me.  Because believe it or not, there is a lot of power in encouragement.

What does it mean to encourage?

Well, the good old Webster Dictionary defines the word, and says that encouragement means to be in the state of being encouraged.  The word encourage actually means to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope.  It also means to spur on.

William Arthur once said, “Flatter me and I may not believe you.  Criticize me and I may not like you.  Ignore me and I may not forgive you.  Encourage me and I may not forget you.”

There is tremendous power in the giving and receiving of encouragement.  Elizabeth Harrison once wrote, “Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than they criticize.”

Here is the reality of encouragement.  One, we all need sources of encouragement.  There is not a single person living on this earth who does not need encouragement.  The reality is that we cannot live without being encouraged from time to time.

Now, there are various sources of encouragement.  There is an encouragement that comes from other people.  We all need to hear other people voice their encouragement from time to time.  And that means that we need to be the voice of encouragement at times ourselves.

But there is also an encouragement that can only come from God.

God encourages us in the fact that He will never leave us.

God will always remain with His people.  God makes the clear promise that He will be with His people.  In our text from today, Israel is about to be separated from their home but not from their God.  The people may have walked away from God, but He never walks away from them.

No matter what we go through in life, God will be with us too.  In Joshua 1:9 it says, “Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

You see, it is God who brings the ultimate encouragement in life by promising to always be with us.

We can also find encouragement in the fact that God promises to restore His people.  God is faithful to His word.  One day, God will bring all of His promises to completion.  God does His work in His time, and that is where we get frustrated at times.  I think most of us will agree that when we get frustrated with God, it is usually because He is not acting in accordance with our time schedules.  As Christians, we need to realize, and be content with the fact that God knows best, and the He is acting in His own time.

Another encouraging aspect of God is that He will bring healing and restoration to His people.  When we face rough times in our lives, God promises that He can cause all things to work together for the good.  God promises that one day He will heal every problem that we face.

Now, it may not be on this side of life, but God has made the promise that He will heal and bring restoration to His people.

Next, we can be encouraged in the fact that God has a plan for our life.  God has created each of us with a purpose.  In Psalm 139:13-16 it says, “2”

You see, every person is meant to be a part of God’s eternal plan.  When we begin to get in line with God’s will for our lives, we begin to see that God has a fantastic plan. 

As we take a look at our Jeremiah passage, we find that God has a fantastic plan that involves 4 aspects.

1.      God wants to bring prosperity to your life.  What kind of prosperity does He want to bring into your life?

Well, some of these TV preachers will give you the impression that if you are faithful to God, that you are going to have everything good in life.  They promote what is known as “The Health, Wealth, and Prosperity Gospel.”  Everything is always great, but that is a false message.

However, that is a false message.  Everything isn’t always great even in a Christian’s life.  However, God does want to bring prosperity to your life.  It just may not be in the way that the rest of the world measures prosperity.

2.      God wants to bring protection to your life.  What kind of protection is He referring to?

Again, some would like to believe that when you become a Christian nothing bad will ever happen again.  But that couldn’t be further from the truth.  The truth is, that when we follow in God’s will, it protects us from certain dangers in the world.  And when God is in our lives, we have a protection that is far beyond what we will ever understand.

3.      God wants to bring hope to your life.  How does God bring hope to your life?

As Christians, we have the hope of eternal life in Heaven with God.  God gives us a hope that the world cannot give.  When we face hard times in life, we can have hope in a powerful God that can do anything that He wants to.

4.      God wants to secure a future for you.  What kind of future does God secure for us, and how does He do it?

God has a plan in store for you, and when you follow His will, He has a fantastic future laid out for you.  It may not be a great future by human standards, but it is a future that leads to a reward in Heaven.

Now, even though God has a fantastic plan to bring prosperity, protection, hope, and a future to you, there is a problem.  You see, God cannot make you follow His plan for your life.  There is no mistake, God has a plan for you, but He will not make you do the right thing, He will simply try and influence you.

God created us, and He gave us free will.  That means that we have a choice to make.  You can follow God and receive the blessings of His plan.  Or you can go off on your own and do your own plan for life.  But trust me, His plan is far better than ours.

All God is doing is waiting for your call.  You see, God is willing to listen.  God clearly promises that He is always available for us.  God is never out of the office.  He never goes to sleep.  He never takes a vacation.  God cares enough about you and your life to listen.  There is no limit to God’s time.

In fact, God wants you to find Him.  And to do that, God has given us a “map” as a way to find Him.  God can be found.  Every person can find God if they want to.  God states it very clearly in scripture that He can be found by all who seek Him.  In fact, He has made Himself easy to find.

So, let’s go back to the questions that I asked at the beginning of our time together this evening.

1. Do you feel like you are a prisoner?  Let’ me now ask you another question.  What is it that is holding you prisoner?  The answer is bondage.

Bondage away from God.  The bondage of your self image.  The problems of a painful past.  The limitations that have been laid on you.  Your own attitudes.  Maybe it is a destructive personal behavior.  Or maybe it is the fear of what awaits you in the future.  But most often, it is the bondage of sin.

Whatever it is, God wants more for your life.  God wants to see you free from the bondage that is holding you prisoner.  God did not create you to live in bondage.  And the great new is this, God has the power to set you free.

2. Do you lack purpose in life?  What we need to realize is that as Christians, God’s children, we are of great value.  God created you.  God loves you enough to die in your place.  You have a divine plan.  God has a purpose for your life.  God has a plan of blessing waiting for you.

But this involves you following wherever God leads you.  The condition of God’s blessing is that you follow Him.  Now is the time to decide to follow God with reckless abandon.

3. Do you feel like God has left you?  The main thing that we need to understand is that God never leaves us, never.  It is a story that we all know, but allow me to share it with you at this time.  It is the poem “Footprints In The Sand.”

“One night a man had a dream.  He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the Lord.  Across the sky flashed scenes from His life.  For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand.  One belonging to Him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.  He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints.  He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.

This really bothered Him and He questioned the Lord about it.  “Lord you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way.  But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints.  I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.”

The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you!  During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.””

This is a great story.  When we feel like God has left our side, we need to understand that He hasn’t.  Sure, there are times in life when we feel like God is far away.  But if God seems distant, guess who moved?

God will not leave you, not now, not ever.  God will not let you down.  God is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to Him.  God is always there for us no matter how far we have wandered.

Now, before we close this evening, does anyone have anything that they would like to add?

Well, if there is nothing else, hopefully we have all been encouraged by the promises from God that we have looked at this evening.  I will go ahead and close us in a word of prayer, and then we will sing a closing song.  Let’ Pray!