Future Faithfulness 未来的应许
Dexu Xia
I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Jeremiah 32:42
Sara lost her mother when she was just fourteen years old. She and her siblings lost their house soon after and became homeless. Years later, Sara wanted to provide her future children with an inheritance that could be passed down from generation to generation. She worked hard to purchase a house, giving her family the stable home she never had.
Investing in a home for future generations is an act of faith toward a future you don’t yet see. God told the prophet Jeremiah to purchase land just before the violent siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Jeremiah 32:6–12). To the prophet, God’s instructions didn’t make a lot of sense. Soon all their property and belongings would be confiscated.
But God gave Jeremiah this promise: “As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them” (v. 42). The prophet’s investment in property was a physical sign of God’s faithfulness to someday restore the Israelites to their homeland. Even in the midst of a terrible attack, God promised His people that peace would come again—homes and property would be bought and sold again (vv. 43–44).
Today we can put our trust in God’s faithfulness and choose to “invest” in faith. Although we may not see an earthly restoration of every situation, we have the assurance that He’ll someday make everything right.
By: Karen Pimpo
What causes you to lose sight of God’s faithfulness? How can you “invest” in light of the restoration He promises?
Dear God, help me to invest today for the future I can’t yet see.
我也要照样使我所应许他们的一切福乐都临到他们。—耶利米书32章42节
莎娜在14岁时就失去了母亲。没过多久，她和几个兄弟姐妹也失去了房子，变成无家可归。多年以后，莎娜想要让未来的子孙拥有一份能代代相传的家产。于是，她努力工作，买了一套房子，给她的家人一个稳定的家，那是她自己从未拥有过的。
为后代子孙投资房产，是对你还看不到的未来有信心的表现。在耶路撒冷被巴比伦人猛烈围攻之前，上帝吩咐先知耶利米购买一块土地（耶利米书32章6-12节），但这个指示实在让人难以理解。因不久之后，以色列百姓所有的田产家业都会被掳掠一空。
但上帝给了耶利米这样的应许：“我怎样使这一切大祸临到这百姓，我也要照样使我所应许他们的一切福乐都临到他们”（42节）。先知投资田产是上帝信实的记号，因有朝一日上帝会带领以色列民回归故土。即使他们正遭受猛烈的攻击，上帝应许祂的子民和平将会再次临到，房屋和田地可以再度进行交易（43-44节）。
今天我们仍可相信上帝的信实，选择“投资”在我们的信仰上。虽然我们未必能看见世上的每一种乱象都能得到更正，但确信有一天，上帝会拨乱反正，使一切回归正道！
作者： 平凯灵
为何有时你会看不到上帝的信实？
基于上帝所应许的复兴，
你要如何“投资”在信仰上？
亲爱的上帝，请帮助我全然信靠祢的信实，
让我今天就能为祢应许的将来进行投资