My people who survived the sword found grace as they wandered in the wilderness. when Israel went in search for rest, I appeared to them far away and said: "I have loved you with an everlasting love-out of faithfulness I have drawn you close......Listen, as they come home weeping and repenting, praying for direction, pleading mercy as I bring them back. In that day I will lead them beside quiet streams of water and take them upon a straight path where they will not stumble. Why? Because I am Israel's Father, and Ephraim is My first born.
Observation
Judah is now under siege by Babylon. All that God has warned of through Jeremiah is coming to pass. The people of Israel are soon to see their sin and repent. Their wandering will give them new insight and they will find grace there. They find His grace when they have lost everything. In the light of His grace they realize that they don't deserve to come back home, they don't deserve for Him to love them. They humble themselves and say "I was wrong, I sinned against You God".
Yet it was God who was drawing them all along, it is His everlasting love for them that has held them even in the wilderness. When they finally see His love and submit to it,
God gives them the sweetest gift of all....peace; He quiets their soul. He refreshes and heals them, from then on each step they take is with Him.
What incredible encouragement this must have been to Jeremiah, who had only been given bad news up to this point. This truth will be an anchor for generations to come.
Application
This is my own story. When did I find Christ? When all that I wanted was ripped from me, when everything I touched turn to ash, when I was rejected and ridiculed, when I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was lost; lost in the wilderness.
As it turns out, I was always lost, I just didn't know it. Just like Israel, my life of sin hadn't gotten bad enough for me to change. But God's grace found me in the wilderness and showed me what I had been doing to myself and to Him. In horror of what I saw, I cried out to Him. His promise of quiet streams and a straight path are sure, I am living proof. There are times when my heart is disquieted and my foot unsteady, but He is always there, ready to quiet my soul and help me take the next step.
Prayer
Father, I praise You for Your everlasting love. I praise You for drawing me, beckoning me to come to You. I praise You that I didn't have to clean up or figure out the next step. You have always been there, even when I couldn't see You. I am always home with You!
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