Daily Bible Study

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Day 270 Lamentations 5:1 Remember, O LORD, what has come upon us. Look, and behold our reproach! 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens, and our houses to foreigners. 3 We have become orphans and waifs. Our mothers are like widows. 4 We pay for the water we drink, and our wood comes at a price. 5 They pursue at our heels. We labor and have no rest. 6 We gave our hand to the Egyptians and the Assyrians to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers sinned and are no more, but we bear their iniquities. 8 Servants rule over us. There is none to deliver us from their hand. 9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness. 10 Our skin is hot as an oven, because of the fever of famine. 11 They ravished the women in Zion; the maidens in the cities of Judah. 12 Princes were hung up by their hands, and elders were not respected. 13 Young men ground at the millstones; boys stagger under loads of wood. 14 The elders have ceased gathering at the gate, and the young men from their music. 15 The joy of our heart has ceased. Our dance has turned into mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our heads. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our heart is faint; because of these things our eyes grow dim; 18 Because of Mount Zion which is desolate with foxes walking about on it. 19 You, O LORD, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation. 20 Why do You forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a time? 21 Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored. Renew our days as of old, 22 unless You have utterly rejected us, and are very angry with us! What is your life? Is it pain and turmoil? Do you live from crisis to crisis? Or is your life mundane, routine, and lifeless? Jeremiah lamented what he saw and how their captors treated them and asked God if He would forget them forever. You see the world around you. You shake your head at the war in Ukraine. You hear and see images on the news and you wonder where will it end. It is much the same as in Jeremiah’s day when God sent His people into exile and brought ruin to Judah and Jerusalem. What will it take for you to turn to God and pray? As Christians, you either turn a blind eye to what is happening in the world around you, take up a cause to help in any way you can, or if you can do nothing else, you pray. Your heart hurts for those who lost everything. Jeremiah prayed first for God to see how they lived, to see the destruction of His holy city, Jerusalem, to see the state of the people, and to hear their cries of desperation. Your first reaction to everything is prayer. Pray for God to work in your life to show you how you can help in the crisis. It might not be war, it might be a battle in your home, your job, your finances, your health. Wherever your crisis finds you, pray. Learn from Jeremiah and pray. Seek God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Let Him know how you feel about your circumstance. It won’t surprise Him. He already knows. By telling Him, He knows what is important to you. Then expect God to move in your life. Expect, don’t walk away from prayer without hope. Only when you believe will God answer. If you don’t believe, nothing will happen. Let’s pray: Father, You know the problems facing me. Help me cling to You, trusting You to take care of me. Help me stand on Your promises to provide, defend, and go before me in everything. Let me know I have nothing to fear because You are right here, helping me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 11 March 2022 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay.