Jeremiah 45- Gods Plan

 

Lord, how many times have I pressed ahead trying to achieve what I wanted…help me to trust in You alone for direction and not try to force my own desires.

Jeremiah 44- Again & Again

 

God repeatedly gave His children opportunity to turn back to Him.  It is rarely just a single call, His patience is long lasting and thankfully so, because we need it.  Watching these people purposefully reject God call through Jeremiah is painful, but I am sure that is how my own life looks at times from Gods perspective.  Lord, help me to trust you and reject my own feelings…

Jeremiah 43- Rejected God

 

The people of Israel were so confident in their own plan that they rejected the very words of God.  How many times do I do this same thing?  Lord, help me to hear, understand and follow your words without question!

Jeremiah 42- Sought & Answered

 

We so often want to know directly from God what He wants us to do in a specific situation…that is what the Israelites wanted here so they got Jeremiah to ask for them.  After 10 days the Lord answered but it was not what they expected…

How we respond to Gods direction for us reveals our own hearts, do we want God or do we want to follow our own plans?  Lord, help me to follow You at every opportunity, strengthen my faith to trust you and obey your instruction!

Jeremiah 41- Rescued

 

God rescues His people from the tyrannical through whatever means He sees fit.  It is often not the way we would have chosen or that even seems wise, but He will do it at the perfect time!

Jeremiah 40- Protected Poor

 

Even as the people were taken away from their land, God provides for the poor and gives them property and work to do.he allows them the pride of cultivating property and working to gain wealth.  This is one more instance of God caring for the weak and marginalized…as He always does!

Jeremiah 39- Promises Kept

 

When the city fell God protected Jeremiah just as He promised…he was treated well and cared for even through the trial.  The trial did not stop, evaporate or transform into something beautiful…but God was there, protecting, caring and guiding him in the midst of it all!

Lord, thank you that you never leave us and promise to always care for us.  Help me to trust you more!!!

Jeremiah 38- Unlikely Ally

 

All of his own people hated what God had to say so much they wanted to kill him.  Jeremiah was sentenced to death by the mob, but God placed the Ethiopian near the king to save his life.  God is constantly watching out for us, even when everything looks hopeless…Lord help me to have faith to trust Your work in my life!!!

Jeremiah 37- God Provides

 

Even though Jeremiah was persecuted and in the midst of a trial, God still provided for him…

Sometimes we feel like the trial itself is evidence that God does not care, but it is always Gods intention for the trial to lead us to Him and to trust in His provision!

Jeremiah 36- Another Chance

 

It’s crazy to see that God is still giving his people a chance after rejecting him over and over again…

Jeremiah 35- Persistently Pursuing

 

It’s incredible that God continues to pursue His people as they reject Him over and over.  We are so easily swayed to do what we this is best.  God, help me to see through the lies of my inner lawyer to know, understand and obey your voice!!!

Jeremiah 34- No Take-backs

 

Obedience when God is watching, then disobedience the next minute is never a good idea…primarily because God does see everything we do, say or think.

Jeremiah 33- Healing Restoration

 

How incredible that God is not just willing to forgive and restore, but He sacrifices for us to make it possible.

Give thanks to the Lord! For the Lord is good! For His loving kindness is everlasting!

Jeremiah 32- Redemption Promised

 

God doesn’t have to remind the people of what the future holds, but He does because His goal is not punishment, but Restoration!

Jeremiah 31- Restoration Initiator

 

What a beautiful picture of God bringing peace, joy and blessing to the people who have just experienced discipline.  His intention with trials/discipline is not to destroy but rather to transform and draw us near.  Lord help me to always be looking toward Your ultimate plan rather than being so focused on the suffering of today.

Jeremiah 30- Relationship Restoration

 

God wants his people close and does everything with the intention of drawing His people to Himself.  Even discipline is designed to bring us closer to Him.  Lord, help me to make the decision to draw near to You so that discipline is not needed!

Jeremiah 29- Knowing God

 

This passage is so clear that the intention behind the discipline of God to to restore relationship.  He desires that we know Him, spend time with Him and follow Him intentionally.  Lord align my heart to you in every way!

Jeremiah 28- Protected People

 

The false prophet is telling the people what they want to hear is removed by God to protect the people from the lies.  God cares about truth and wants His people to deal with truth rather than lies that make us feel better.

Jeremiah 27- Listen to Whom?

 

We have thousands of voices that are constantly telling us what to do, what is right or wrong, what is good or bad, what is best for us.  This was no different for the people of Israel, the voices were dominated by false prophets, dreamers, sorcerers and soothsayers…and we have the same: social media, news, commercials etc. 

Lord, help me to elevate Your voice above all others, let me hear You, strengthen me to obey it, and reject all of the other influences that pull my attention. Let me live in absolute surrender!

Jeremiah 26- Just Repent

 

God is so patient with us…He is looking for us to turn to Him, reject our own selfishness and listen.  It seems so simple, yet actually doing it takes being surrendered.  That of course is the last thing we ever want to do, because surrender requires a continual putting to death our own desires empowered by the Spirit of God.  It is literally impossible without the Spirit…Lord strengthen me to follow You rather than my own desires…

Jeremiah 25- Numerous Chances

 

God’s patience is on display in this passage even though we are breaking in at the point where He to the final straw.  His people’s rejection of His warnings and instruction has been ignored and rejected for decades and He cares so much for their ultimate good, that He will send consequences that will be painful and traumatic.

Lord, help me to listen right away and not need decades of your patience.  Allow me to follow You at the first instruction.

Jeremiah 24- Heart Transformed

 

It is pretty amazing as God is sending out His people to exile because of their rejection of Him, His plan or to prosper some of them.  These plans seem to not be dependent on their actions, but fully reliant on Gods character.  Lord, continue to pull my heart toward yourself, allow me to stay surrendered in all things.

Jeremiah 22- Know God

 

Caring for others, seeking justice and living our righteousness is what our life looks like when we know God.

Jeremiah 21- We Choose

 

God has clearly given us all that we need to understand for how we live…He has placed the path for life in our hands through scripture, obey and surrender to find peace, joy and abundant life.  Reject and find chaos, destruction and death.  It really is that simple…

Jeremiah 20- God With Us

 

Jeremiah has such a hard calling: to declare Gods word to the people of Israel knowing they will reject it and hate him personally.  This chapter we see him cursing the day he was born and wishing he would have died…he is in a tough situation that he cannot do anything about.  He is fully reliant on God.  Then we get this gem, “the LORD is with me.”

What a blessing that God does not shy away from the hard moments of our life, no matter where our mental health is or how much suffering we endure, God is with us.