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When Your Words Come…
Reading: Jeremiah 10 – 15
Scripture
Think of how I suffered reproach for your sake. When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. Jeremiah 15:15b-16 (NIV)
Observations
Right at the beginning, God had warned Jeremiah that in serving him, he would have “…to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land.” (Jeremiah 1:18). Yes, God promised to be with him and protect him, but what a life he must have lived; what a burden his calling must have been to bear. No doubt he longed to be welcomed and accepted by the people around him, but there was something he cherished far more – “When your words came…” Hearing from God was what Jeremiah lived for. His soul hungered for it. “I ate [your words]; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name…”
Application
I too have opportunity to hear the voice of God speaking to me. The wonder of that possibility is almost breathtaking, yet so easily disregarded or made light of. To hear the voice of God is not only a privilege – it is life-transforming. But it can only happen as I purposefully incline my heart towards him and seek him, like a flower unfolding its petals each morning and following the sun as it moves across the sky. It is intentional, and born out of both hunger and delight.
Prayer
Lord, I also bear your name. Like Jeremiah I have been called and your Spirit is within me. I have been bought for a price and I am yours. I too hunger for your words. As I read your Word, please speak to my heart. May I never be satisfied with just words on a page. Please bring them to life, and sharpen the acuity of my ears so that I might clearly hear your voice speaking to me. May nothing else in this life satisfy the longing of my heart like hearing you speaking to me. May that forever be my joy and my heart's delight.
See also Wake Up and Listen
God’s Work in Me
Reading: Joshua 1
Scripture
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
Observations
Joshua was about to lead several million people into a land that God had promised to his ancestors hundreds of years earlier. After all this time, he was the one to realise the promise. This would require military leadership as well as civil governance responsibilities.
Joshua had done his apprenticeship under Moses for 40 years or so. He knew what it was to be in God's presence, having spent much time with God in the Tent of Meeting. Yet now, prosperity and success depended on this one thing – that his mind and his heart be so filled with the Book of the Law that he would unswervingly live by God's Word. He was to think it, speak it, and live by it.
Application
The same applies to me, yet so much differently because of God's promise which is now fulfilled: “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33 No longer must I try my hardest to internalise his Word, hoping thereby to obey it and somehow reach his required standard. Instead, God's Word is already within me, written on my heart, and his Spirit is now helping me to externalise or live out that Word.
The pressure now comes right off, because God himself is doing this work in me. “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11. Now as I read God's Word, I am transformed by it because the Spirit is doing this work in me. Now as I 'marinate' in the words of the Word, it's flavour can soak right through me. In effect, the Word is being fulfilled in my life, not because of my own efforts, but because God is doing it. Mine is simply to submit myself into his hands, cooperating with him and trusting him for everything.
Prayer
God, you are so good. Thank you for your precious Word. Thank you for opening your heart to me so that I can know you and enjoy your promises. And thank you Jesus for your sacrifice that has made all this possible. Holy Spirit, have you way in me now, and may all your plans and purposes for me be fulfilled.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Sneaking Off With God... 