Read… Jeremiah 30: 1-15

For the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they shall take possession of it.

Although I had grown up in the church and often felt very close to God, in my twenties and thirties I drifted away and spent a long time not thinking about God. My philosophy of life was something like ‘be as happy as you can and try not to hurt other people’. I thought about the people I was close to but little about the rest of the world.

One day I was reading a novel which made me think about the relationship I had had with God when I was younger and quite suddenly I wanted that relationship back. It had been a good few years since we had spoken, but it felt like all I had to do was turn my head and God was there, right behind me. I realised that God had been there all the time – I was just facing the other way.

Ponder… When you feel far from God, as if in exile, what gives you hope?

Pray… FOR OUR COMMUNITY Pray for those in our community who are working. We pray for fulfilment and job satisfaction in the jobs that they do. FOR THE WORLD Take time to reflect on the magnitude, variety and strength of the global working population. Consider the range of jobs that are being undertaken. Thank God for those who work leads to ground breaking or world changing discoveries, but thank Him too for those whose work goes unnoticed.

Act… Do a job that someone else usually does, like taking the rubbish out.