Some Background: In Jeremiah 10:16 we have the pinnacle of God declaring His love for Israel when He says that “Israel is the tribe of His inheritance”. The very next verse (17) God pronounces judgment on His people and casts them out of their land. In verses 18-22 we have the exact measures of the judgment of God; namely in what form this judgment will come upon the people and then in verses 23-25 we have Jeremiah’s prayer for correction, both for him and Israel.

Jeremiah begins his prayer, “O Lord, I know” Well, what did Jeremiah know? He knew that the affairs of this world are not under the control of individuals, no matter how much they imagine they are. There is a supreme power that rules and overrules and works according to its own will, whatever men may determine or desire to do. God is omnipotent and He is working out His wise designs throughout this sinful world.

This truth should be remembered by us, for three reasons…

1. It takes away our fear of man.
Why should we be afraid of someone who will die. You are a child of God and are under divine protection. The most powerful enemy of you or of the Church can do nothing to either without God’s permission. The almighty God is Master and Lord over those who imagine that all power is in their hands.
“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe”. Prov 29:35.

2. It should ensure your faithfulness to the will of God.
In this passage the Lord is allowing Nebuchadnezzar to devastate His people; His people with whom He has sworn Himself, in covenant, to be their God. It is God who permits affliction. Therefore the Jews should not think as much about the instrument with which they are afflicted, but rather of “who” is afflicting. Are you afflicted? Remember it is the Lord who permits you to be tried.
Do not be angry with the secondary cause of the affliction. Rather believe that the Lord causes this for your good, for your growth in sanctification, and submit your will to God’s will. A dog that is struck with a stick will bite the stick. The stick however has no will to strike the dog. If the dog had more sense, it would bite the person behind the stick. So your struggle with afflictions must be against the causer of the affliction and not the instrument of the affliction. If there is any struggle, it is against God, your Creator.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28)

3. This truth is that our faith should be strengthened.
It is easy to trust God when everything is going great. But genuine faith trust God in a storm. In this passage there is a storm, and yet what does Jeremiah do? He prays. In the time of trial, the tried ought to remember that God has all things in his care, and that this trial is a permitted trial. To trust God in the time of trial is not easy, but it is the time of trial that displays real faith.
Trials will lead you to triumph if you abide in the Lord always.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be open to Your correction so that I might walk right before You. Give me the wisdom to know Your discipline and the courage to face it.

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And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:29)

You are an heir. The next time you are feeling low or insignificant, worried or frustrated, confused, confounded or just plain conned, stop and consider this: you are an heir. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” (Rom 8:16-17)

“An heir to what?” you ask. That’s a fair question.

You an heir to every promise God makes in the Bible. You are an heir to the great power and promise of God, your Heavenly Father.

When Jesus says, “Fear not”, you have no reason to fear. Your faith in Christ puts God in your corner.
When the Lord says, “I will never abandon you”, you have no reason to feel abandoned or alone. He is with you always.

The psalms are filled with promises of strength, protection, deliverance, fulfillment and healing that David clung tightly to.

David, king of Israel, knew all too well that, despite his sins and failings, God loved him and kept watch over him.

You, too, can cling tightly – and confidently – to God.

When Paul wrote that he was content no matter what physical state he found himself in -whether full or hungry, in need or lacking nothing – he was fully aware of the promise that was his in Christ. “I can do all things in Christ Who strengthens me”, he boldly proclaimed. Philippians 4:11-13.
You, too, can do all things in Christ, who is your strength.

You see, as a child of God, you have great and mighty power available to you – to see you to the other side of every storm, to move the mountain that blocks your path, to implement the
changes needed in your life. When life feels too tough, remember His promises. Look in His Word and find what you need. God’s promises are for you, just as they were for Paul,
and David, and Abraham.

Do you know you have the power from God to live life to the fullest and to execute God’s will to usher His kingdom on earth?

You are not ordinary; You are extraordinary in Jesus Christ!

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The psalmist tells us that God has His plan. He hears our prayers and sees our need. He knows exactly what is going on. The wicked think that they have everything under control. “Yet they say, ‘The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand”‘ (v. 7). “God can’t see what we’re doing; God’s not going to do anything.”

That’s the false confidence of the wicked. But the psalmist answers that with inspired logic.
“He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see? He who instructs the nations, shall not He correct, He who teaches man knowledge?” (vv. 9,10). In other words, is God dumber than we are? He sees what’s going on in this world. He hears the cries of His own people and disciplines those who need discipline.

Our tendency, of course, is to take things into our own hands. Moses tried that approach, and it sent him to the wilderness for 40 years to learn how to trust God’s timing and method. When you find yourself crying out, “How long, O Lord, how long,” focus on God and remember that He knows as much about the situation as you do—probably more. Then wait on Him. Watch and pray. You can be sure that He will keep His promises.

Learning to trust God’s methods and timing is a lifelong course. When you need to wait patiently for God to act, first look to Him and lay hold of His promises in Scripture. Then rest in His care. He knows your situation, and He keeps His word. He will act at the right time.- Warren Wiersbe

Read the following words of our God with your name in “you”.

In righteousness you shall be established;
You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me.
Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD. (Isaiah 54:14,15,17).

If you are a servant of God please read this message again.
Be sure of the facts that the Holy Spirit is praying for you now! (Rom.8:26).
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”
Our Lord Jesus Christ is interceding for you now!! Rom.8:34.
“Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us”.

Prayer: Lord, I put my time entirely in Your hands. Though circumstances may not seem to be in my favor, I will still trust in You no matter what happens. I believe that Your eye will guide me.

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Despair-
They are going to be howling calamity. You are going to face those with disdain – they are going to laugh at you. And you’re going to face those with

Discouragement –
They are going to say that it can’t be done. And you better learn to silence their voices. How do you do that? Get alone in the secret counsel halls of the Almighty and get your eyes on God. If you listen to what those people say, you’re not going to be victorious in what God
is calling you to do.
I believe David conquered Goliath because he got alone with God.
I believe Joseph survived abandonment and imprisonment because he got alone with God.
So you need not live with disappointment for God is your-

Defense!
“Write on a piece of paper those people in your life who laugh at you, those who tell
you to give up, and those who tell you it can’t be done and those who constantly trouble you and torment you..
Now, lift them up to God for Him to silence them and give you the strength to love them.” (Adrian Rogers).

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When nothing seems to be going right in your life, don’t despair, pray and ask for God’s help, and then;
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord. (Ps 27:14)
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
(Isa 40:31)
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
(Lam 3:25)
Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” (Isa 49:23 ESV)
Therefore don’t let disappointments cause you to give up, instead always;

Hold unansweringly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)

Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all…As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.

Life with Christ is an endless hope, without Him a hopeless end.

I place no hope in my strength, nor in my works: but all my confidence is in God my protector, who never abandons those who have put all their hope and thought in Him.~ Francois Rabelais
And you will feel secure, because there is hope; you will look around and take your rest in security. (Job 11:18)

Anyone who is among the living has hope.

But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. (Eccl 9:4 ESV)

Now, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, may the Grace of the Lord
be with you, and grant you peace!

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God’s love moves us to believe that God will see us through the worst of times. Let’s see how the power of hope worked in the believer who wrote Psalm 42.
The psalmist seems to be a believer in exile, perhaps a prisoner of war in a strange land.

Is he being punished by God? Maybe, but we can’t be sure. Maybe it’s just one of the tragic
consequences of living in a world in which innocent people often suffer as a result of the decisions, right or wrong, of other people.

How is the psalmist doing? He is often lonely, anxious, and depressed. He longs to be back among his people and in his homeland, worshiping God “with shouts of joy and thanksgiving.”
But here he is, an outcast mocked by his enemies, who say to him all day long, “Where is your God?”
What does this believer do to lift his spirit from the pit of despair? Again and again the
psalmist says to his soul: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Dear friend, no matter what you are going through, keep on putting your hope in this great truth: Nothing in all creation – not even death – “will be able to separate (you) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).

Read Psalm 61:5-8:
My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your love that moves me to the hope that you will never leave or forsake me. I’m waiting for your deliverance and delight. I’ll not be put to shame.
Work through me to share this hope with the hopeless.

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“When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the LORD said to him, “You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over…I myself will drive them out before the Israelites” (Joshua 13:1, 6). 

Joshua had accomplished much on the battlefield and in taking the Promised Land.  
Yet, at a very old age, his command from God to take all of the land had not been fulfilled. 

The Lord had to remind Joshua that his mission hadn’t been fully achieved. 

Isn’t it interesting that God didn’t look for a younger leader-
– but went straight to Joshua even in his old age?  

God went to the person who had accomplished much and asked him to continue on with His purpose.  
The Lord wasn’t finished with Joshua.

And he isn’t through with you either! 
Whether it’s through volunteer work, a part-time job, or serving in a position at your church-

God still has a purpose for you! 
He didn’t say, “OK…when a man or woman reaches the age of 65, they are no longer of any use to Me.” 

In almost every Christian congregation or ministry-
– there are things not being accomplished that could be done by seniors.  

All that is required is a willing and able senior to step up and take the challenge God has presented to participate in various activities and ministries. 

Joshua was virtually “retired” from his job.  
But, even in his old age-

God called him out of retirement to continue on with the job he was to complete.  

Is God calling you in your later years to continue on in ministry for His purposes?
Are you willing to take on that challenge today?  

God will continue with His work through His people-
– even those who are “well advanced in years.” 

Ask God to show you a ministry in which you can be involved.
Surrender yourself, even in your later years, to fulfilling His call on your life. 

“They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing…” (Psalm 92:14). 

(PR)
 

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At the close of the year, march forward with these promises of God:

I will always love you           Jer 31:3

I will be with you                   Isa 43:2; Matt 28:20

I will provide for you             Ps 81:10

I will hear your prayer         Jer 29:12

I will answer your prayer   Jer 33:3

I will do it                               John 14:13

I will strengthen you            Isa 41:10

I will help you                        Isa 14:13

I will deliver you                    Ps 50:15

I will give you rest                 Matt 11:28

I will give you peace              John 14:27

I will prepare a place for you John 14:2

I will deliver, protect, answer, be with you, rescue, honor, satisfy, show you My salvation Ps 91:14-16

Remember, the future is as bright as the promises of God.

Move forward courageously. God will bless you.

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