Scripture: Lamentations 1:14
"My sins have been bound into a yoke;
by his hands they were woven together.
They have come upon my neck
and the Lord has sapped my strength.
He has handed me over
to those I cannot withstand.
Observation: Here, Jeremiah, speaking in the third person for the nation of Judah, confesses that they have given the Lord "sins" which He has "bound into a yoke." This is a yoke of oppression and punishment against them. But they themselves provided the raw material of which their future, this "yoke," was created.
Application: The way I live gives the Lord the raw material to create my future. My choices determine what it is that God will use to either harm me or bless me. The truth is that many folks want to sow their wild oats when they are young and then later they pray for crop failure! But the Bible tells us, "Whatever seeds a person plants, that's the kind of crop that will grow. Whether seeds of good and Godly things that will bring a beneficial crop of blessing, or selfish and sinful seeds that will bring a deadly harvest of destruction. Don't be deceived, you can't outfox God." (PMS* Paraphrase)
Bottom line: Don't give God garbage unless you want to spend eternity in the dump. Let Him live His glorious power out through your life and you can spend eternity with Him.
Prayer: Lord, I want to plant good seeds because a want a great harvest. I want a crown of reward, not a yoke of punishment. Empower me to live by faith in Your positive power of blessing and righteous living.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
*PMS Paraphrase is the Pastor Mike Stipech Paraphrase where I reword a phrase or verse or two from memory. No guarantees are made. A link is always provided so you can read what real scholars translated the passage to say.
1 comment:
Prov. 19:3 says: "A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD." It's so true that if we give God garbage to work with in our life (choosing our own way instead of his) it shouldn't surprise us if we get garbage in return. But I have so often heard people who have been knowingly living in disobedience to God be mad at him for bad things that happen in their lives. They figure that because they accepted him at some point in their lives and know who he is, they should be exempt from the consequences of their own folly because God forgives. You bring out an important truth we all need to understand.
Post a Comment