God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too. Matthew 5:11-12 NLT
A few months ago I came into my den and noticed this big beetle hanging onto the fly screen. Of course I had to take a photo, I knew there was a Daydrops just waiting to be written!
Recently I have been reading in Jeremiah and wonder again at the obedience and tenacity of Jeremiah, sometimes known as the weeping prophet because of the great anguish he felt knowing the destruction that was coming upon the disobedient and rebellious people he was sent to bring God's warning to.
During his time in prison God told him to write the prophecies from the past and send them to the king which he and Baruch his friend and scribe faithfully did. The king just cut up the scroll and burned it, showing no repentance at all. Again God told Jeremiah to write and again he was obedient. Later he was reported by the officials for telling people to surrender to the enemy and so save their lives (Jeremiah 38). With the king's permission Jeremiah was imprisoned but not just in the normal prison. They lowered him into an empty cistern in the prison yard where his feet stood in a layer of mud. They wanted Jeremiah to die of hunger, because as far as they were concerned he was a trouble-maker. But God provided someone to be an advocate for Jeremiah. Ebed-melech pleaded for Jeremiah's life and was allowed to rescue him from the well.
I expect that Jeremiah also expected that his task was finished and his end had come. He probably wondered why God would allow him to be in such a horrible place, but in that ghastly cistern he was not forgotten, God made a way of escape.
Perhaps you feel that you are trapped in a hole at the moment. You feel a prisoner of circumstances, persecution, sickness or adversity. Perhaps you feel that God won't or can't help you. You may even be so discouraged that you've stopped talking to God because you think he's forgotten you. Fear not, His love never fails (Lamentations 3:22), keep hanging on and keep expecting Him to rescue you. Remind yourself of His faithfulness and hold onto your faith. Remember that his promise is "He knows where I am... and when he has tested me I will come forth as gold". (Job 23:10) Job trusted God and knew how to hang on in difficulty.
It is so important for us to store up the word of God in our hearts so that it rises up in us when we most need to be encouraged by it. Sometimes when we read we think we have forgotten what we read, but the Holy Spirit can bring all things to our remembrance. We just need to do the work of sowing it into our hearts by regular study. We won't always understand why God allows us to go through some difficult things but we can be sure that through it all he is with us and working to deepen and strengthen our faith.
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for the truth of your word that you will never leave me nor forsake me. Help me to always believe and trust in you no matter how hard my circumstances appear to be for a time. Amen
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