Friday 27, June 2014
TEXT: JEREMIAH 24:1-10
KEY VERSE: “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good” (Jeremiah 24:5).
The vision of Jeremiah in this text was to raise the spirits of those gone into captivity, by assuring them of a happy return for being humble to leave their native land. It was also to remind those who refused to leave Jerusalem of a miserable captivity. We thus cannot always determine as to God’s love or hatred by what is immediately before us.
The sooner a child is corrected, the better the effects of the correction is likely to be. Even for those captives, the captivity was for their good; and God’s intentions are never in vain. Through affliction, they were convicted of sin, humbled under God’s hand, weaned from the world and taught to pray. They turned from their sins, particularly idolatry. God promised He would own them in captivity.
Believers today need to manifest the right attitude and disposition in whatever they are going through. A backslider will need to repent and return to the Lord as it is not God’s pleasure that such individuals end-up in such miserable conditions. Afflictions may come the way of a backslider, but these are not meant to foreclose their opportunities to come to God. Rather they are to achieve the opposite – drive them back to their maker and redeemer. Instead of perceiving tribulations as gruelling punishment from God, such should be seen as refining fire that is meant to remove all impurities in a sinner or backslider’s life and turn him back to his creator. If he does return, there is room for him in God’s court, as the Lord takes no pleasure in anyone remaining permanently estranged from Him.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: There is joy in heaven over a sinner who repents.
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