READ: Jeremiah 25 (Focus vs. 4-11)
MEMORY VERSE
“You did not listen to me,” declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 25:7
BACKGROUND
Alida took a DNA test in 2020 and discovered a strong match to a man living on the opposite coast of the US. Later, she and her daughters found news articles from the 1950s that led them to conclude that the man was Alida’s long-lost uncle, Luis!
He’d been abducted from a park in 1951 when he was six years old. That DNA test, taken seventy years after Luis’ disappearance, eventually led to a happy reunion with his biological family members. Alida said, “With [our] story out there, it could help other families . . . . I would say, don’t give up.”
Seventy years is a long time to keep hope alive. Jeremiah and the people of Judah must have been heartbroken and fearful when God said they would “serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:11).
But they hadn’t listened to God and turned from their “evil ways and . . . practices” (v. 5), which had deformed them into “an object of horror and scorn” (v. 9). The people were condemned more than thirty times in Jeremiah for not listening to Him.
Seventy years might have felt like forever, but God would be with them, and He promised that the hard season would eventually end (29:10).
As we face challenging seasons that seem to go on and on, let’s remember that while we may struggle to trust God, He promises that He’s with us and loves us (30:11). As we listen to Him and wait expectantly, we can find hope.
Tom Felten
INSIGHT
The people of Judah were stubbornly unrepentant, persistently refusing to trust God and blatantly ignoring His warnings of punishment for their idolatry (Jeremiah 25:3-7).
The Babylonians would turn their country into a desolate wasteland, and the people would be exiled to Babylon for seventy years (vv. 8-11). But God wouldn’t abandon them.
He assured them of His presence and love: “Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, . . . for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land” (42:11-12).
Whatever situation we’re facing today, we can entrust ourselves to God, knowing that He loves us and is with us.
APPLICATION
How is it possible to endure difficult times? Where can you find comfort in God’s promises?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“As we face challenging seasons that seem to go on and on, let’s remember that while we may struggle to trust God, He promises that He’s with us and loves us.”
PR’s TAKE
“Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact. With the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.” 2 Peter 3:8 God doesn’t operate on our clock. He is TIME. pr
PRAYER
“Loving God, please help me find hope in You.
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“STANDING ON THE PROMISES”
Standing on the promises of Christ, my King!
Through eternal ages let His praises ring.
“Glory in the highest!” I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail!
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior…
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior…
Standing on the promises, I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior…
Standing on the promises of Christ, the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s Sword,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior…
Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
list’ning ev’ry moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
