Daily Bible Study

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Day 256 Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously? 2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind. 3 But You, O LORD, know me; You have seen me, and You have tested my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter and prepare them for the day of slaughter. 4 How long will the land mourn and the herbs of every field wither? The beasts and birds are consumed for the wickedness of those who dwell there, because they said, “He will not see our final end.” 5 If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? 6 For even your brothers, the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; yes, they have called a multitude after you. Do not believe them even though they speak smooth words to you. Have you been desperate? You see the wickedness around you and you wonder where it will end. Will justice prevail? Wars around the world. Wars in your streets. Wars in your families. Wars and rumors of war. When will it end? Jeremiah saw the wickedness of the people and he pleaded with God to stop the wickedness, to deal with them. He gave a compelling argument to God about what He should do. Have you told God what He should do in the many situations you face? Have you laid out your plans of vengeance and told God what you would do in a given situation? Many Christians begin their prayers with how God should handle their enemies and then at the end of the prayer might tack on ‘Your will be done’ or ‘Not my will but Yours be done’. Either way, you still direct God in how He should handle your situation. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked the Father to take the cup from Him, and in all sincerity said, ‘Not my will but Yours be done.’ He submitted to God’s plan of salvation through Him. He went willingly to the cross. How do you pray? Do you, like Jeremiah, plead your cause and expect God to comply with your wishes? Jeremiah didn’t only pray to God, he talked to Him as one would talk to a friend. He knew God would take care of his enemies in His way and in His time. Do you pray expecting God to do your will? Or do you talk things over with God, letting Him know how you feel about the situation and then leave it in God’s hands? Jeremiah ultimately left his situation in God’s hands. God knew Jeremiah’s heart and what he faced. He also knew how He would take care of the situation facing Jeremiah. Jeremiah 12:7 “I have forsaken My house. I have left My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest; it cries out against Me. Therefore, I have hated it. 9 My heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture. The vultures all around are against her. Come, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour! 10 “Many rulers have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden My portion underfoot. They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it desolate. Desolate, it mourns to Me. The whole land is made desolate, because no one takes it to heart. 12 The plunderers have come on all the desolate heights in the wilderness for the sword of the LORD will devour from one end of the land to the other end of the land. No flesh will have peace. 13 They have sown wheat but reaped thorns. They have put themselves to pain but do not profit. But be ashamed of your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD: “Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 “Then after I have plucked them out, I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. 16 “And it will be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then I will establish them in the midst of My people. 17 “But if they do not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the LORD. God told Jeremiah His plan for His people. You can see the if/then promise God gave him. Everything depended on their obedience. If they obeyed God, then He would establish them. Otherwise, He would pluck them out and destroy them. He gave Jeremiah clear options of what to expect. Have you accepted God’s if/then options for your life and situation? It’s okay to talk everything over with God, to tell Him how you feel in the situation. You then need to hear God’s side of the situation and what He proposes to do. It all depends on obedience. Let’s pray: Father, You know my situation. You know how I feel about it and what I would like to see happen. Help me accept Your will and obey You without compromise as You take care of the situation Your way, not mine. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 25 February 2022 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay.