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.
Giving Ourselves Completely to God
In a culture that constantly urges us to strive to get ahead, to climb the ladder of success, to never settle for second place… what motivation could there possibly be to completely surrender our lives to the will of someone else? This command of Jesus comes as a startling shock to our senses. Surely no one would ever demand such a thing! And yet that’s precisely what Jesus demands. Could there be any reason compelling enough to make us not only obey this command, but to do it willingly?