Morning Devotion
February 7, 2025
Today's Bible Verse
Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Today's Bible Study
In this chapter of Jeremiah, the Lord reassures the exiled Israelites that He has not forgotten about them. He reminds them that His love is everlasting and that He will always treat them with "lovingkindness." Today, we'll think about resting in confidence in the Lord even when circumstances are difficult.
The Israelites were exiled from their homeland. Everything that was familiar to them had been taken away, and they were struggling to feel the love of the Lord. Have you ever felt this way? Sometimes, difficult circumstances seem to pile up, making us tired and desperate to be reminded that the Lord sees us and cares about us. I know that I have felt this way before.
Jeremiah reminds the Israelites that even though they can't feel the Lord's love for them, they can trust in Him. The Lord's love is everlasting, which means there is no moment of our lives when we are not surrounded by His love. There are times in which His love is easier to feel and experience than others, but its presence remains the same.
The Israelites were exiled from their homeland. Everything that was familiar to them had been taken away, and they were struggling to feel the love of the Lord. Have you ever felt this way? Sometimes, difficult circumstances seem to pile up, making us tired and desperate to be reminded that the Lord sees us and cares about us. I know that I have felt this way before.
Jeremiah reminds the Israelites that even though they can't feel the Lord's love for them, they can trust in Him. The Lord's love is everlasting, which means there is no moment of our lives when we are not surrounded by His love. There are times in which His love is easier to feel and experience than others, but its presence remains the same.
Knowing that God's love is everlasting gives us hope and strength. It reminds us that we are not slaves to our circumstances. We can rise above them because our God and His love for us is beyond them. Knowing that the Lord's love for us is unchanging strengthens us to walk in Him even when things become very challenging.
Today, if you're facing something that's making your faith waver, read today's verse aloud. The Lord loves you with an everlasting love. He loves you more than you have ever known, and He is working everything out for the good. Cling to truths like these, and let yourself rest in His love.
Today, if you're facing something that's making your faith waver, read today's verse aloud. The Lord loves you with an everlasting love. He loves you more than you have ever known, and He is working everything out for the good. Cling to truths like these, and let yourself rest in His love.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, I thank you so much for the great love you have shown me. Help me remember that your love for me is unchanging and always precious and sweet. Help me go to you, Lord, when I feel myself growing weary or weak. I love you, Jesus. In your name, amen.
If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.
-C.S. Lewis
God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.
-Elbert Hubbard
The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.
-C.S. Lewis
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.
-Dorothy Parker
Yesterday's Devotional
February 6, 2025
Yesterday's Bible Verse
Psalms 91:2
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Yesterday's Bible Study
In this verse, the psalmist is declaring that he will trust the Lord regardless of his circumstances. Today, we'll look at why trusting in the Lord can be difficult, why we should trust Him despite the difficulty, and why articulating our trust is so important.
Trusting in the Lord is difficult partly because He works on a different timeframe than we do. While we may want immediate results, the Lord was willing for the Israelites to wait 400 years before they returned to the Promised Land. Also, the Lord works in mysterious ways. We do not always understand how He is moving or why He allows prayers to sometimes remain unanswered.
But oh, trusting in the Lord is worth it. Over and over again He has proven to be faithful in our lives and in the world. By far, the greatest demonstration of His faithfulness is Jesus' life and resurrection. The Lord had promised that a Messiah would come. Isaiah prophesied this 800 years in advance and that the Messiah would set people free from sin and death. This is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus suffered a cruel death and paid the price of our shame that we might have life. So even if our circumstances are difficult, we know for certain that the Lord is good... He proved His goodness through Jesus.
Trusting in the Lord is difficult partly because He works on a different timeframe than we do. While we may want immediate results, the Lord was willing for the Israelites to wait 400 years before they returned to the Promised Land. Also, the Lord works in mysterious ways. We do not always understand how He is moving or why He allows prayers to sometimes remain unanswered.
But oh, trusting in the Lord is worth it. Over and over again He has proven to be faithful in our lives and in the world. By far, the greatest demonstration of His faithfulness is Jesus' life and resurrection. The Lord had promised that a Messiah would come. Isaiah prophesied this 800 years in advance and that the Messiah would set people free from sin and death. This is exactly what Jesus did. Jesus suffered a cruel death and paid the price of our shame that we might have life. So even if our circumstances are difficult, we know for certain that the Lord is good... He proved His goodness through Jesus.
When we choose to articulate that we trust in the Lord, we are training our hearts and minds to think rightly of God. The Lord is our refuge and fortress. Sometimes, especially when life hits us hard, we might feel foolish to say that we trust God, but articulating truth about His goodness gives us hope and stirs our minds to believe. When we declare aloud that we will trust in God, as the psalmist does, we're training our minds to think in accordance with the truth from the Bible. As we train ourselves to speak the truth, we will grow in our belief in that truth, and put on the trust that Christians are called to embody.
Yesterday's Prayer
Dear Lord, you are my fortress and my stronghold. I choose to trust you. Regardless of my circumstances, I know that I have hope in you. What I am facing will not defeat my faith and it will not change the reality that you are a precious and almighty God who loves me. I love you, Jesus. In your name, amen.