Today's Devotional Thought
August 16, 2011 by Wendy Foreman
Tears of Joy
Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. If you have read through the Old Testament you know that the Israelites were stubborn. They were rescued time and time again by the Lord, but after awhile, the Lord had enough. They were creating images out of wood and overlaying them with gold and silver; they were sacrificing their children and desecrating the temple of God. The Lord's heart was grieved and because He loved them, He knew He had to chastise them and punish them for their sins. The Israelites were headed to captivity and Jeremiah was telling them it was coming.
As I have read through the book of Jeremiah, what I love ladies, is that in the midst of all the gloom that Jeremiah was prophesying, God still wanted Jeremiah to reassure the Israelites that this discipline was only for a season and that after some time passed, He would bring His children out of captivity and destroy their enemies. And, this is where today's verse comes in.
Take a moment and think about a time in your life when you felt as though you were in captivity. Is there a time when you felt like you were fighting for your life?
Now take another moment and remember when you came through that, how it felt to be free of whatever captivity you had been held in. Were there tears? Were there times of rejoicing and reflecting on God's faithfulness and goodness?
This verse tells us how God would lead His children out of captivity and home to their land. And, just like God led his children out of captivity as he promised, God will free us from our captivity too. And when He does lead us out of those dark days, I am quite certain we will be filled with joy and happiness. I can almost see tears streaming down faces and uplifted hands giving Him praise and worship for His grace and mercy on our lives.
I don't know what you are facing today or what captivity you are in, but let me reassure you that God doesn't desire for you to be in captivity forever. The Israelites were in captivity because of the sin they had committed against their Lord and they had to endure the punishment. Maybe in your case, you are in your captivity because of your sin. It was a season for the Israelites and then God led them out and the same will be for you. If you are captivity because of someone else, perhaps because of something they did to you, I want to be very careful how I say this, but let me ask you to hit the floor on your knees and pray ask God to give you the courage to break free. I lived there for a little while at one time in my life and I just had to get to the point where I recognized it and prayed my way out of it. God was faithful and I broke free.
At the end of today's verse God states that He is Israel's father and they are his children. He is saying that to all of us today. He is our Father and He loves us very much. Just like we want so much for our own children or grandchildren, God wants so much for us. He wants us to live a life that is full and abundant and free of captivity.
December