Words of Hope Daily Devotional
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.
THE DEVOTIONAL IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR EMAIL AND IN PRINT.
The Words of Hope Devotional is a non-profit, donor-supported publication whose goal is to encourage readers to grow in faith through the practice of daily Bible reading and prayer.
DINNER WITH JESUS
Breakfast on the Beach
No Peace (Know Peace)
Read: Jeremiah 6:9-17
They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace. (v. 14)
I live in the United States. In the last year, my country has been deeply divided over issues of social justice. As a pastor, I have seen that this division continues within the church. Issues of social justice are not new, and neither are fights over them. At the time of Jeremiah, God’s people were convinced that they were living godly, righteous lives. They offered sacrifices, prayed for God’s blessing, and amassed wealth while ignoring the poor.
God demanded something different—peace. The Hebrew word for “peace” is shalom, which in short means “life made right.” God decreed in the law that the Israelites provide food, shelter, medical care, and legal justice to all. He told his people that if anyone went without shalom, none should have it. In the exile, God upended the peace of a people who denied his call to shalom.
When I read this passage, I see myself and my own community in it, and maybe you do too. God decrees generous hearts and a generous society because he is generous. As the apostle John wrote, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God” (1 John 3:1). Through Jesus, God claims us as his children, fills our lives to overflowing with his good gifts and then invites us to share his true peace. —Ben Van Arragon
As you pray, ask God to replace your partial peace with his shalom.
Ben Van Arragon is a preacher and writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rev. First Last
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, including Why Doesn’t God Act More Like God, Christ in the Psalms, and A Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.