As Jeremiah continued his
lament over the destruction of Jerusalem, he wrote of the man who
bears his yoke in his youth. He says that he is alone, silent and
puts his mouth in the dust symbolizing humility. He extends his cheek
to his oppressors and is filled with reproach. In chapter three and
verse thirty-one Jeremiah states that there is a time limit to this
venue of the Lord where he wrote:
For the Lord will not
cast off for ever:
This verse declares, “For
the Lord will not cast off for ever:” Jeremiah employs the word
“For” and begins a new conclusion concerning this man of
humility. He says “the Lord will not cast off” which means
to “reject, spurn or forcefully renounce” someone “forever”
or for a “long duration, antiquity, futurity, everlastingly,
evermore, perpetually, continuously or indefinitely”. In other
words there is a time limit to this seeming rejection of the Lord.
Though the difficulties may seem everlasting, “the Lord will
not” allow them to be perpetual.
When we go through hard
times and trials, they may seem to last forever. We might be inclined
to wonder if the Lord will ever relieve us of these burdens. No doubt
Jeremiah felt this way as he reflects upon the man who bears his yoke
of humility. The Lord Jesus does have a limit to the suffering we
will endure. Even He had a limited time that He suffered as He went
to and endured the cross. Time, as we know it, is in God's hands, and
though our difficulties may seem endless, there is a set limit to our
suffering. We must resolve to believe that “the Lord will not
cast off forever”, and remember what Paul the apostle wrote in
his letter to the Romans in chapter eight and verse twenty-eight:
And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his purpose.
God
has a plan for our lives, and He is going to work it out in His own
timing. May He ever work as He sees best.
Next
time we will see how the Lord works even when He causes grief, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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