As the prophet Jeremiah stood amidst the smoldering ruins of his beloved city, he was overcome with grief and hopelessness. What made it even more painful is that he knew this devastation could have been avoided if the nation had only listened to God. But at his lowest point of despair, he remembered God’s faithfulness, and calling this to mind renewed his faltering hope. When your world seems to be crumbling around you, and you feel overwhelmed by the struggles and pain of life, shift your focus back to God’s goodness, trusting that He is ruling over it all and that your hope should rest in Him alone.
Are You Consecrated?
The well-known preacher, Jonathan Edwards, once wrote the following New Year’s resolution: “I will live for God. If no one else does, I still will.” He was making a commitment to consecrate himself to God regardless of the decisions or opinions of others. The word consecrate means to set apart, and the Bible says our lives must be set apart for God’s use. Are we willing to consecrate ourselves to live for God, even if no one else does?