Struggling to Follow

Published: Oct. 26, 2023, 4 a.m.

b'READ: PSALMS 39:7; 119:49; LAMENTATIONS 3:13-26\\n\\n\\n\\nIn the Bible, we see over and over again how the Israelites (God\\u2019s people) turned away from God, abandoning His good ways and embracing sin. But God still had a great love for His people, even though they sinned and no longer followed His commands. He often sent prophets, people He spoke through supernaturally to remind the Israelites of His love and His good ways. One of those prophets was Jeremiah, who spoke God\\u2019s instructions to the people.\\n\\n\\n\\nYet Jeremiah grew disheartened and full of despair because of the people\\u2019s disobedience. He lost hope. His strength grew weak. Overcome by all the sin and wrong, sorrow filled his heart.\\n\\n\\n\\nBut in this moment, he remembered God\\u2019s unshakeable faithfulness. We see this in Jeremiah\\u2019s writings in Lamentations 3. Jeremiah remembered God\\u2019s forgiveness and great love. He says in verses 22-23, \\u201cBecause of the Lord\\u2019s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.\\u201d When Jeremiah was surrounded by faithless people, he found hope in God\\u2019s faithfulness. It gave him strength to continue following God, and to call the rest of God\\u2019s people to do the same.\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen we are overwhelmed by the sin and brokenness in the world around us and in our hearts, we can remember that God is still there. He has not given up on us. Like Jeremiah, we can tell others about God\\u2019s love, forgiveness, and His good ways. We can rest in Jesus, the just King Jeremiah foretold in his writings. Because of Jesus\\u2019s death and resurrection, we can know that He will someday return to bring about wholeness. And we can share this hope with others.\\n\\n\\n\\nGod will be with us no matter how difficult things get. No matter what others do, we can lean on our loving God and follow His good ways. And, like Jeremiah, we can pray fervently that everyone will see God\\u2019s goodness and put their trust in Him. \\u2022 Anna Gregory\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Have you ever felt like Jeremiah? We all need lots of reminders of God\\u2019s faithfulness. Those reminders could come in the form of Bible verses or Bible stories, or from people around you, or memories of times you\\u2019ve seen God\\u2019s faithfulness in your own life or in the lives of others. Or it could be something else, like a song or something in nature. Consider making a list of things that remind you of God\\u2019s faithfulness, then take some time to thank Him for these things.\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 When you see someone you love walking away from God\\u2019s good ways, how could you show them God\\u2019s love?\\n\\n\\n\\nThe Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25 (NIV)'