Returning with Humility: Learning from Israel's Journey
Jeremiah 50:4
In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.
The way in which we approach our Lord is vitally important! The spirit and attitude that we must maintain is that of humility and reverence to our Savior. It is sad, however, to understand what it took for the children of Israel to get to this point in our text. This is after much famine, war, exile, and persecution that they come back to the Lord, seeking His face. Why? Disobedience! They had finally discovered the great price of disobedience to their God.
Some might wrongfully argue that God must put His children in situations of hardship in order to teach them to learn to trust Him…even I have said it so myself in times past. However, I have since learned that it is not the Lord who places us in situations which bring us to our knees and which causes us to lose everything we have, and which strips us of all pride. No! It is our own choosing that does this to us! Study the scriptures, and you will find for yourself at length and in a consistent pattern throughout the entire Word of God, an open invitation to all who will believe and trust God at His Word, to avoid many of the trials which we bring upon ourselves, by simple trust and obedience!
And, not only can we avoid many pitfalls, but we can enjoy many blessings that are readily available in God’s storehouse of love! The key here is timing. It is WHEN we approach God with humility and reverence that makes all the difference in the world. We can do so early in our days, so as to procure His favor, protection and blessings, OR we can do so later in our days, so as to repent of previous disobedience and to undergo damage control which could have been easily avoided!
It’s really up to us, but know one thing, the sooner we come to Him like the children of Israel, “going and weeping”, seeking the Lord our God, the better off we’ll be! Why is it that the prodigal son must spend all he has before coming to himself? Why is it that the natural man tries so hard to ‘go it alone’, absent of God’s guidance, until he begins to self-destruct? When we choose to have it our way, we place ourselves outside the parameters in which God wills to protect us with His covenant! Do not do so! Seek Him early! Do it now!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God.
The way in which we approach our Lord is vitally important! The spirit and attitude that we must maintain is that of humility and reverence to our Savior. It is sad, however, to understand what it took for the children of Israel to get to this point in our text. This is after much famine, war, exile, and persecution that they come back to the Lord, seeking His face. Why? Disobedience! They had finally discovered the great price of disobedience to their God.
Some might wrongfully argue that God must put His children in situations of hardship in order to teach them to learn to trust Him…even I have said it so myself in times past. However, I have since learned that it is not the Lord who places us in situations which bring us to our knees and which causes us to lose everything we have, and which strips us of all pride. No! It is our own choosing that does this to us! Study the scriptures, and you will find for yourself at length and in a consistent pattern throughout the entire Word of God, an open invitation to all who will believe and trust God at His Word, to avoid many of the trials which we bring upon ourselves, by simple trust and obedience!
And, not only can we avoid many pitfalls, but we can enjoy many blessings that are readily available in God’s storehouse of love! The key here is timing. It is WHEN we approach God with humility and reverence that makes all the difference in the world. We can do so early in our days, so as to procure His favor, protection and blessings, OR we can do so later in our days, so as to repent of previous disobedience and to undergo damage control which could have been easily avoided!
It’s really up to us, but know one thing, the sooner we come to Him like the children of Israel, “going and weeping”, seeking the Lord our God, the better off we’ll be! Why is it that the prodigal son must spend all he has before coming to himself? Why is it that the natural man tries so hard to ‘go it alone’, absent of God’s guidance, until he begins to self-destruct? When we choose to have it our way, we place ourselves outside the parameters in which God wills to protect us with His covenant! Do not do so! Seek Him early! Do it now!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill