February 22: GOOD ENDINGS HAVE A BEGINNING
“If that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.” Jeremiah 18:8
Jeremiah’s assignment - to issue warnings from the LORD - was presented faithfully to the nation. Judah had collectively begun to pursue a righteous path under King Josiah, who initiated reformation by cleansing the land of idolatrous shrines. Seeds of truth were beginning to spring up, and individuals had been genuinely aroused to the danger that loomed.
Interwoven with Jeremiah’s conveyance of God’s ready forgiveness for those who repented were the prophecies that Judah would be overrun by the Babylonians. The LORD even supplied the words that they could say to Him in repentance: “We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.” (3:25) Both national pride and personal pride stood between the vast majority of Judeans and repentance. But it is always at the personal level that deep and lasting revival must begin.
The real location where battles are won or lost is in the secret place of a person’s will in the presence of God, never in full view of the world. Until we understand that it is essential for each of us to get alone with God over whatever it is that must be put down, we only prolong the agony or worse, accept the defects in our character as “normal.” The only viable option is to fall to our knees before Him and fight the battle. Full surrender to Him is the only way to gain victory. If you are wondering what issue needs addressing most urgently, He will put His finger directly on it for you. Whatever it is, lay it down between you and Him for the two of you to view and say, “Oh, Lord, I don’t want this between us!” Whether it takes minutes, months, or years, settle the issue between you and God in the secret place of your soul. From there, you can have certainty that the battle is won. Most people fight the battle out in the world, and lose. It must be settled once and for all within your heart before God.
Surrender to the will of God is the only way to escape calamity, disaster, and loss, in full view of the world.. Even while still on a journey of learning and growing, we shouldn’t hesitate, when opportunity presents itself, to advise others to exercise their own wills—to allow the Potter to mold the clay (18:6). If someone wills to be molded by the will of God, then He will accomplish it. In yielding one’s own will, real surrender to Him has begun.
In a foreshowing of the Babylonian (Roman) influences and false teachings that would push into the New Testament church, God told His faithful remnant to plan on a lifetime of seventy years (29:10) of exposure to such influences and teachings that plainly contradict Scripture.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Gain perspective: Jeremiah 29:1-23; 1 Peter 5:13; Revelation 17:1-5,18; 18:4