Value Of Obstacles TEXT: Jeremiah 31:15-26 Key Verse: “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God” (Jeremiah 31:18). One man, a golf enthusiast, was telling another man how hard it was, on a certain course, to drive the ball over a ditch that lay between the tree and the green. “Why don’t they fill up the ditch?” asked the second man. An old lady was watching a game of tennis, and saw how often the ball was driven against the net. “Why don’t they take down the net?” she asked. It is hard for many to comprehend the value of obstacles, hazards, hindrances and chastisements. They cannot understand the joys of the chase. They never entered into the delight of overcoming. If the time ever comes when all our ditches are filled, all our nets taken down, life will be too tame to live. Let us praise God daily for the hurdles in the way, face them cheerfully, and overcome them with a shout! Though Israel, like an estranged wife had gone away from the Lord who is their spiritual husband and had been taken into captivity by enemy nations, the Lord did earnestly remember her still. His bowels of mercy are troubled for how she has fared while in captivity. They bemoaned themselves and sighed by reason of their afflictions like a bullock unaccustomed to his yoke. But He encouraged them to repent and take advantage of the new hope in His new creation. Today, this is made possible through the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Though we may pass through circumstances that tend to dampen the joy of saints, some things are said to encourage faith, hope, and joy, and to abate sorrow and weeping. The Lord watches over us and is going before us. He calls upon backsliders to return unto Him with a promise of pardon and forgiveness. Like the father of the prodigal son, the Lord has been waiting for His sons and daughters to return home. Every believer is precious in the sight of the Lord. Like a shepherd would not lose one sheep, or a jeweler one diamond, or a mother one child, the Lord will not lose one of His redeemed people. However little we may be, if we are the Lord’s, we are preserved in Christ Jesus. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Our extremities are the Lord’s opportunities.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 05:33:14 +0000
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