Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:2-3
God had cried out to the children of Israel, pleading with them to turn from their idolatrous worship. For a brief time, King Josiah lead the people in a revival like they had never seen before. Then, when he died; in his place arose Kings who again turned their back on God. They chose to listen to false “prophets” who said what they wanted to hear. God sent to them Jeremiah to tell them that if they did not repent and turn from their wicked ways, He would send the Chaldeans to destroy their land. They did not heed the warnings! In fact, they threw Jeremiah into a dungeon where he nearly starved to death. And, yes; history tells us the rest. The Chaldean army overtook the city, destroying it. Many were killed and many had already been taken captive by the Babylonians.
Some would still ask, “Why would God allow such a travesty?” Yet, the true question is “Why did God plead so long before exacting judgement?” Despite mankind’s utter rejection of God’s loving righteous hand, why would God still reach forth His Grace to save us? Why would He have sent His Beloved Son to die in our place? Despite everything, God still pleads with a rebellious, sin filled humanity to come. He still promises hope, joy, and redemption as can only be found in an intimate relationship with Him, the creator of heaven and earth. In Christ, we are adopted into His family. In Christ, we are recipients of all the promises of God. In Christ, we are God’s Redeemed, Beloved, Sanctified Children–heir of the Kingdom of God. We become servants by choice; that we might become the light that pierces the darkness of this world.
What is so amazing is that God hasn’t looked down upon this corrupt world and said, “Finished, Done!” What is amazing is that God hasn’t said the same with our nation. What is amazing is that God has so patiently loved me. He has written His Words on my heart with His Flaming pen. Through every trial, every sorrow, every failure; He has drawn me closer to Himself. Through every stumbling, bumbling step I took; He has reached out His mighty righteous right hand to lift me up and to strengthen me. He has been my guiding light through every dark, treacherous night.
Yes, God allows evil, pain and suffering to awaken us from our foolish self-exalting hearts. He shouts to us in our pain. We cannot blame God for our own foolish behaviors. It is our evil sinful nature, that wants to blame others for our own wrongdoing. While at the same time, if we would only repent and call upon His name, He would save us. While in exile, a remnant of the people did call upon God and they were restored as He promised. Read this promise, God had made. A promise that lighted the flame of hope in Daniel’s heart and caused him to pray fervently for the restoration of Jerusalem and God’s people to their home.
Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. For thus saith the Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. Jeremiah 32: 37-42
This is the covenant God has promised to us as individuals and to our nation. He wants to give us all the good He has. He wants to give us His love, His joy, His peace and to share with us His Glory; but, we must each turn from our own sin and call upon His name. My plea is that God do whatever is needed to write His laws upon my heart that I not turn away. He will do it; for I know that I cannot of my own without His Divine Grace enacting that in me. And when we call upon Him for ourselves and for our nation, He will.
cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it…. The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good. Jeremiah 33:8,9,11
[bctt tweet=”I pray that we are not too late to hearken His call and revive this nation. Will you join me?” username=”effiedarlene”]
[bctt tweet=”Let us pray that God Sustaining Grace Lift Us out of the darkness into His light” username=”effiedarlene”]
[tweetthis]Pray for repentance of our own sin and the sins of this nation[/tweetthis]
[bctt tweet=”Let us turn our eyes to the only One True God who can restore our own hearts & our nation” username=”effiedarlene”]
[bctt tweet=”To Restore Hope & Peace to Our Land I must humble myself, seek God & pray fervently” username=”effiedarlene”]
I want to end with this beautiful poem by John Piper
Not grace to bar what is not bliss,
Nor flight from all distress, but this:
The grace that orders our trouble and pain,
And then, in the darkness, is there to sustainJohn Piper sermon Sustained by Sovereign Grace Forever
photo used courtesy of https://unsplash.com/@ramone The inscription I added from John Piper sermon Sustained by Sovereign Grace Forever
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.