Good Afternoon!
My cousin and I were playing golf one day in Arkansas where he lived. While playing we came upon a pond that wound its way through the fairway. He told me about playing there earlier and he was following a man who was not having a good day at golf. He said the man hit his ball all over the course and most times out of bounds...losing many of his golf balls. He told me that this man came to this hole and he hit the ball into the water. He got another ball out and hit it into the water. After his third ball went into the water my cousin told me that he saw something that he had never seen before. The man had become so frustrated that he walked up to the edge of the water and threw his entire bag...clubs, golf balls and all...into the water. Then he simply walked over the hill to the parking lot to get into his car and leave. BUT...the man came back over the hill to the place where he threw his golf bag. My cuz said he thought that he had a change of heart and wanted to retrieve his bag and equipment. The man rolled up his pants legs and went into the water to get his bag. He found his bag and pulled it up to get something out of the bag. He took his car keys out of the bag and then threw the bag back into the water and left! That's what I call a bad day of golf!
Have you felt such frustration in your life? When I read the stories of Jeremiah I am convinced he felt frustrated over the future of his country. He knew God was telling him the truth concerning the soon coming destruction of his home...Judah. He was faithful to deliver God's message to the citizens of his country. He loved his country. He wanted so much to see his people turn from their disobedience to God. In one of his messages he said:
"Your own evil will discipline you;
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Think it over and see how evil and bitter it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of Me." 2:19
Jeremiah wanted them to return to the Lord. It was his plea to them. But, later God says:
"...Why do My people claim:
We will do what we want
we will no longer come to You?
Can a young woman forget her jewelry
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet My people have forgotten Me for countless days." vv. 31-32
You can also hear the great frustration that God in which God was experiencing. This is not simply any nation...it is God's people! He has had a history of caring for them. When they were in prison in Egypt...God released them. When they were hungry...God fed them. When they were thirsty...God gave them fresh water to drink. When they were being attacked and abused by their enemy...God struck the enemy down.
But, now these people are treating God as if He is their enemy. They are running to other interests. Their actions duplicate the actions of the heathen nations around them. Gambling, alcoholism, prostitution, divided families, lying, friends becoming enemies, PRIDE is Growing, selfish gain, churches are changing their message from Spiritual to Fleshly, Trust, and Faith in anything or anyone is at an all-time low, and now they have turned their back on the One who gave them life and liberty from the beginning...God! Sound familiar? We need to look no farther than yesterday at the people elected to be our leaders and make our decisions that govern our lives. We are in desperate need of a nation that will no longer abandon God.
Here is a point that I want you to realize. We have a choice to do what we desire. We can vote for whatever person of issue that we think is right. But...here it is...We can NOT choose the RESULTS OF OUR CHOICES!!! That's God's responsibility. He is the supreme God and Lord over heaven and earth which includes YOU.
So, when we have a desire for the freedom that God has created for us...we need to make the choices that support God's freedom for us. As Jeremiah was telling the people of his country...we, as people who trust in God with our lives, need to openly share God's message to our world, our nation, our family, and our friends.
Israel was attempting to trust other nations who would be their friend so they would succeed. Maybe making friends with heathen nations who have also abandoned God will create a better economy and better world relations. (What about China? What about Russia? etc...) But, God states:
"Moreover, you will be led out from here with your hands on your head
since the Lord has rejected those you trust;
you will not succeed even with their help." v. 37
Let's be like Jeremiah. We must be bold and truthful. If it is from God then it needs to be said. If not from God, resist it. Test the waters. God has told us to "Prove Him." He will be faithful to you. Sometimes Jeremiah stood alone in the faces of evil. He was challenged, but, God had promised from the first day when Jeremiah received his call by God that He "will be with you to deliver you." You have that same promise.
Abandon the sin and go with God!
May God Bless You!
Don Betts
DBEA/campus320
DBEAWINNING.COM
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!