- King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, “You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” Jeremiah 37:17 – I can’t help but find some humor in this verse as I imagine it play out. Jeremiah was in prison during the Babylonian siege on Jerusalem. He’d been proclaiming boldly in the public that Babylon was going to destroy the city and take away it’s people. Now secretly the king has Jeremiah brought to him. The king whispers to Jeremiah asking if the Lord had any special words for him regarding everything happening with Babylon. Jeremiah says yes, there are words from the Lord on this. I imagine the king getting excited to hear these special words for just him…and Jeremiah whispers to the king…and what he whispers is the very same words he’s been telling the king all along. Whether it was on the steps of the temple or behind closed doors Jeremiah remained steady saying the same message. Even with the threat of being placed back in a dungeon Jeremiah spoke the true words of God, even when that wouldn’t have been what the king wanted to hear. Tough are the words we have to say sometimes to people, especially when it’s involving sin within their life. The temptation is always there to altar what we tell them to make it easier for them to swallow or to make the repercussions we have to deal with less. Yet if the words we are to tell them is God’s words, no altering should take place. Speak the full truth of that message even when it’s not easy. While the repercussions we then have to navigate for speaking the truth may not be pleasant, know your Father in Heaven is pleased and your reward will be there. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3267
- But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray for us to the Lord our God.” Jeremiah37:2-3 – If this is like your relationship with God, don’t be surprised if prayers aren’t being answered like you are asking them to. If the only time you want a relationship to God is when you need help, that’s not a healthy relationship at all. God is seeking an deep, daily relationship with you where He is a part of your whole story, not just the character who steps in when trouble comes then leaves. Know that God is going to take care of His own always, but if we are refusing to listen to Him we can’t expect the same blessings in our life as if we were listening and following. Even when we are faithfully following Him prayers won’t always be answered as we’d like, but as we lean into Him more we’ll feel and see what it looks like to have God leaning into our story more too. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 956
- When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days…Jeremiah 37:16 – Jeremiah was cast into a dungeon/prison for many days. All due to a misunderstanding and a refusal to listen to Jeremiah’s explanation. He was simply doing what God wanted and going to receive his blessing. What struck me was that he “remained there many days.” I sought to find out how long he was in their for, but no exact time was given. Know that may be our story too. We may be on the path of following what God wants for us and still be blindsided by difficulty. Not only that, the time we dwell in that difficulty may be untold to us. Meaning we may find ourself in struggle due to our pursuit of Jesus and not have a clue when the struggle will end. We may be there for “many days.” In that time, our only hope is in the promises of God and the testimony of scripture showing He keeps true to His word. Many days may pass before we see the light beyond our struggle, but take heart God is with you in the struggle and is walking with you through it. He will never leave nor forsake you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2169
Daily DEVO 