Verse of the Day 4/23

Through the Bible - 2 Samuel 9-11, Luke 20:1-26


Good morning,
Over the past week or so we've looked at several verses in Jeremiah and Lamentations regarding the faithfulness of God in and through trying situations.
I had in mind to use a verse that could be considered a "life verse" for Jeremiah, other Bible greats, and many of us that have held on to God, and in fact dug deeper into His Word through the storms of life.
Reading in Proerbs this morning I came across a verse that led me to use the Jeremiah verse today.

Prov 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life. NKJV

Isn't that how it is when you are in the depths, your heart "feels sick"?
Adversity can cause us to react mainly in two ways. We can run from God or seek Him more. Sometimes, we may run, realize that we're running from our only hope, and turn back to Him. But when we turn to Him, it is through His Word and prayer that we seek answers. This seeking God could be "the desire" spoken of in this verse. MacArthur comments that the "tree of life" is "an expression of a metaphor referring to temporal and spiritual renewal and refreshment."Today's verse comes from Jeremiah 15:
Jer 15:16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts. NKJV

After a time of questioning God in the events in my life (detailed last week) I turned to God and dug deeper than I ever had. His Word and the prayers and support of others brought joy back.
The joy in His Word led me to some of the challenging books- Romans, Hebrews, Galations and Isaiah which became the focus of studies in our men's Bible studies at EEFC.
Do you realize that if you are His, a child of His, that you are called by His name, the Lord of Hosts, the Sovereign God of the universe?
If so, turn to Him, seek Him in His Word, eat them, devour them, that they may be the joy and rejoicing of your heart.
Think of the Bible characters that exemplified this in their lives. Who comes to mind?
In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net
Jer 15:15-16:1

15 O Lord, You know;Remember me and visit me,And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. 16 Your words were found, and I ate them,And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;For I am called by Your name,O Lord God of hosts. 17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,Nor did I rejoice;I sat alone because of Your hand,For You have filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetualAnd my wound incurable,Which refuses to be healed?Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,As waters that fail?

The Lord Reassures Jeremiah

19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
"If you return,Then I will bring you back;You shall stand before Me;If you take out the precious from the vile,You shall be as My mouth.Let them return to you,But you must not return to them. 20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;And they will fight against you,But they shall not prevail against you;For I am with you to save youAnd deliver you," says the Lord. 21 "I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible."
J
NKJV