(Choose life) that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:20.

The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8.

Being the youngest child, I was always impatient and that impatience has carried over into every stage of my life. And Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, reminds me to be with Him now. Now is what we have. And in our chapter, Jeremiah 40, Jeremiah is in chains along with all the captives from Jerusalem that are being carried to Babylon. And the commander of the guard found Jeremiah. He gives him a choice to go to Babylon or to go back to Gedaliah who has been appointed over Judah or to go where he pleases. v. 1-5. Can you imagine? The people are in chains and what Jeremiah told them would happen has now happened. Then the commander gave him provisions and a present and let him go. So Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah and stayed with him among the people who were left behind in the land. v. 5-6. Now the people in chains are going to Babylon. Now Jeremiah is returning to Mizpah. And now Gedaliah tells the people remaining, “Do not be afraid to serve the Babylonians,” he said. “Settle down in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you. I myself will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians who come to us, but you are to harvest the wine, summer fruit and olive oil, and put them in your storage jars, and live in the towns you have taken over.” v. 9-10. And an amazing thing happened. When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them, they all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit. v. 11-12. And with them, came Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country to Gedaliah at Mizpah and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them. v. 13-14. Johanan even offered to kill Ishmael but Gedaliah wouldn’t let him because he didn’t believe it was true, v. 16.

In all the uncertainties of life, we have now and we have Creator God. I’m trying to appreciate and live in the now and not skip ahead to what isn’t and may never be. Living in the now doesn’t mean life grinds to a halt and stops because this beautiful planet still travels its appointed course around the sun and night turns to day and seasons come and go. But in the now, I can better hear the voice of God guiding me forward with Him and that is so good! Over 8 billion people inhabit this planet and here uncertainties abound as life rushes forward for them. I want to be still and be with God now. I want to appreciate the peace He brings and enjoy the beauty He provides now. I want to think about God’s holiness. I want to learn about His truth for us and how much we are loved now. I want to take His hand and let Him be the one to guide me forward with Him. Can you imagine? I hope you can! Be with God now. You are loved!