(Jeremiah 16:1-21)
The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For this is what the Lord says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who give birth to them, and their fathers who father them in this land: 4 “They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to mourn or to console them; for I have withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “and My favor and compassion. 6 Both great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone make cuts on himself or have his head shaved for them. 7 People will not break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother. 8 Moreover, you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” 9 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.10 “Now it will happen that, when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘For what reason has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us? And what is our wrongdoing, or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law. 12 You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. 13 So I will hurl you off this land to the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’
14 “Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. 17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes. 18 I will first repay them double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and their abominations.”
19 Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
And my refuge in the day of distress,
To You the nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood,
Futility, and things of no benefit.”
20 Can a person make gods for himself?
But they are not gods!
21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will make them know
My power and My might;
And they will know that My name is the Lord.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
When a person doesn't get their way, a typical response can be, "What have I ever done to deserve this?" Or when a parent has passed away and there's the reading of the will, a typical response can be, "That's it? That's all I get?" Or when someone makes a bad investment and loses money, a typical response in attempts to recover can be to invest in more of the same. And through it all, most people will somehow blame God for the consequences of their own actions!
The questions we need to ask ourselves is: Am I going in the right direction? Am I wanting the right things? Am I investing wisely (whether that be with money, time, energy or relationships)? Am I aligning myself with the right people? Have I done anything wrong that needs to be changed and/or resolved?
These questions can also be asked regarding who we are dating and marrying. Jeremiah was told not to marry anyone from that land, because they were all unbelievers. God has told us that if we are believers, we should marry another believer, so that in this union, both are going in the same direction, and both are seeking the joy of the Lord. Otherwise, it is better to be single and happy, than married and unhappy. Yet people tend to fall into the same traps, over and over again, and wonder why.
Often, we mistaken stubbornness for strength, because we are holding firm to what we want, whether it is right or wrong. In the same way, we mistaken selfishness for peace, because we feel temporary satisfaction whenever we get our way, whether it is right or wrong. Well, in God's equation, when we are seeking His way, we can be completely confident in knowing that His way is the right way. And in His way, He wants to help us do that. That involves asking and accepting Him to do it FOR us. In that, He strengthens us! God's strength is more powerful than all strengths put together. Also, as we do it God's way, we receive His peace, which is true inner peace, because we know that God's got this, and He will work it out for good.
Meanwhile...
God's perfect answers are: search our hearts and confess any sin that might be there, because sin not only brings consequences to our lives, but sin also impedes our prayers, AND disrupts our own relationship with the Lord. We should continue to put our hope and complete trust in the Lord and in Him alone, because only He is eternal, almighty, and all-knowing. He will be our strength, stronghold and refuge.
When we invest in the building up of the Lord's kingdom, we will lay up treasures in heaven. And while here on earth, we can know that only God's truth will direct us in the right way we should go, to have a fulfilling purpose and the best life possible. And we will know that only the Lord can fulfill, satisfy and make us complete, to bring true peace, joy and contentment to our lives!
No comments:
Post a Comment