Jeremiah 16: 1-2 "The Word of the Lord
came to me saying, You shall not take a
wife..."
The prophet had suffered much because of the
ministry that had been given to him.
He was preaching an unpopular message to an
unrepentant people about an unavoidable
judgment. Where could he find a place of
solace, and who could be a source of comfort
and blessing? His family? To add sorrow to
his current ministry misery, he was
commanded not to marry and have children!
Sometimes in our circumstances the only
place we can find comfort and joy is at home
with our family. Our family often
serves as a respite from the many troubles
in the world, a place of blessing and
encouragement. But in this case,
because of impending judgment, he would be
subjected to great sorrows. And if he
had a family, they would also be subjected
to hardship, and this would have made his
sorrows unbearable (vv. 3-4). Thus,
God's command was a revelation of His mercy
and not meanness! We wonder at times
why God does not allow us to have certain
pleasures, promotions, or "blessings" in our
lives. Is God being unkind, just
wanting to make us miserable? NO!
Instead, He is loving, and later the prophet
will declare that "His mercies are new every
morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lam.
3: 22-23).
Jeremiah could not fully appreciate God's
counsel at the time, but what he could do
was--trust and obey. Eventually, he
would see and realize God's plans and
purposes are always right, wise, and best!
Will we spend our lives complaining about
what God has NOT allowed us to have as
compared to others?
Will we be full of envy of those who have,
which will only cause us greater misery?
Or, will we spend our lives thanking Him for
His faithfulness, trusting His wisdom above
our own understanding, resulting in
gratitude for a life of peace and joy?
We can choose to have joy...or NOT.
Choose JOY!
In
Christ,
Tommy Middleton
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