Lamentations 3:28-36 says...Bible reading week 21, day 1

Today's verses are Lamentations 3:28-36, which read,

28 - Let him sit alone and be silent since He has laid it on him.

29 - Let him put his mouth in the dust, perhaps there is hope.

30 - Let him give his cheek to the smiter, let him be filled with reproach.

31 - For the Lord will not reject forever,

32 - for if He causes grief, then He will have compassion according to His abundant lovingkindness.

33 - For He does not afflict willingly or grieve the sons of men.

34 - To crush under His feet all the prisoners of the land,

35 - to deprive a man of justice in the presence of the Most High,

36 - to defraud a man in his lawsuit--of these things the Lord does not approve.

Jeremiah has been in deep despair over the sin of his nation Israel and feeling the consequences of this "far-ness" from God.  He is ready to give up.  Then Jeremiah remembers, recalls, rests, and recommits to God.  Now comes a time of reflection.  It was a time to sit alone and be silent.  I have those.  Do you?  Actually I need those because it allows me to be quiet before God for His direction to sink in.  His Word has been speaking to me.  Hopefully, godly brothers and sisters in Christ have been giving godly counsel that is being pondered.  

We sit alone and be silent but we take this posture in submission.  Our mouths are in the dust.  We are face down.  We put ourselves under the authority of God.  We are not running the show any longer.  We seek His will and it is the one that has eternal hope.  The cheek is offered for the slap and the remorse is seen for running from God rather than running to Him.  All of these are word pictures that Jeremiah gives us of someone who is humbled before the Lord.  This is not a high moment for the human but it is for God because now He has someone in the right frame of mind to be used.  This one will rise to obey.

God wants us in the game of life but He wants us in the game of life for Him.  Instead of putting God on the "bench" of your life, let Him be your "Coach."  He already has the "plays" drawn up for you specifically as you walk onto the court.  We miss those opportunities when we put God on the bench and we declare ourselves the star player playing by our own rules.  He needs someone in the huddle who will listen and execute His will.

Jeremiah sounds like our sermon yesterday.  God brings upon us storms for our good or as Jeremiah says, "He causes grief."  Those storms have a purpose to show His compassion to us.  He is not out to punish us, but to discipline us back to him.  A final judgement will declare all but now we receive a just pressure from God to steer us back to Him.  It is a just storm because our God is a holy God.  Our God is a just God.  Our God is a loving God and all these attributes are not to be separated by combined.  Our God is a holy just loving God.  His actions toward us show those attributes and sometimes out of His holiness and out of His justness and out of His lovingness He brings upon a storm for us to go through.  

What is your storm?  Is it a chastening storm?  A storm to make you see how you are not following after God?  Is your storm a strengthening storm?  A storm of life, common to others, but for the benefit of your faith in God to be deepened.  A storm that will help you serve others in their storm.  Both storms need us to come to Jesus.  He was sleeping in the boat with the disciples but He is always awake to hear the prayers of someone who is ready to receive His instruction and rise in obedience to it.  To be humbled by our holy just loving God is a very good thing.  Let us pray.

"Lord, we are watching Jeremiah go through a process to be used by You.  Help us remember who You are.  Help us to recall Your wonderful attributes.  Help us to rest, recommit, and reflect in submission to Your will and way.  May we be in a form useful for the kingdom of God and therefore bring glory to Your name.  And You know best when to cause the storms to come.  Amen."

Pastor Adam