Friday, July 17 2020 Devotional
“Have you utterly rejected Judah? Does your soul loathe Zion? Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror. We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against you. Do not spurn us, for your name's sake; do not dishonor your glorious throne; remember and do not break your covenant with us.”
Jeremiah 14:19-21
There are times when God seems to withhold His hand, when our prayers seem to be unheard and things seem to get worse rather than better.
In Jeremiah’s day, God was holding out, waiting for the people of Judah to come to genuine repentance. But that repentance never came until after Jerusalem was destroyed and the few thousand people who survived were carried off to Babylon. There in Babylon they got to thinking about what had happened and the great back-to-the-Bible movement that resulted in the Rabbis and the synagogues came into being. Finally, they were taking God’s Word seriously! Genuine repentance could take place.
It happens the same way in our lives. God is working through the circumstances of our life to bring about His purpose. He hears our prayers, but He alone decides when and how to respond.
There might be something He wants to accomplish in our own heart; or something He wants bring about in someone else, or in our church or in our nation. We’re tempted to think He just isn’t listening, but that’s never true. He is always listening. His goodness and mercy never cease, and He is always our loving Father in heaven.
We can trust Him and His purpose in everything that we bring to Him. He is God; His good and perfect will and His loving purpose are what really matter.
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope.”
Psalm 130:5
Father, I trust You. I know that Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and Your purposes are good and right and the best. I will wait for You to accomplish what You want, even as I cry out to You. So I will wait for You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles