Author: David Short

WAIT AND EXPECT

Lamentations 3:22-23

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who will seek Him, the Good One.
He will wait for and quietly expect
The salvation of the Lord.”

Command with a Promise

Wait for and quietly expect the salvation of the Lord and He will be good to us. If we seek Him, He will be good to us. Now this does not mean that God’s salvation is dependent upon us, for there is nothing that we can do to earn that. Salvation is God’s free gift to mankind through the work of Jesus Christ. If we wait for God to show Himself in our lives, if we seek Him and wait quietly expecting His salvation, He reveal all of that to us. Glory be to God!

Baruch 2:14-15

O Lord, hear our prayer and our petition, and for Your own sake deliver us, and grant us mercy before those who have carried us into exile, in order that the whole earth may come to know that You are the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by Your name.

Personal Challenge

Just as the nation of israel was in exile in Babylon, so too are we, the followers of Christ, in exile in this fallen and temporal world. Our true home is now in the Kingdom of heaven and we are awaiting the return of our Lord to take us back home.. Therefore we pray to Him to deliver us and to grant us mercy in this foreign land. We pray that He does this so that this fallen world may know who He is. And in this prayer we are also asking that we be good representatives of Him and His Kingdom. Glory be to God!

Baruch 1:11-12

And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his son Belshazzar, that their days on earth may be like the days of heaven. And the Lord will give us strength and enlighten our eyes, and we will live under the shelter of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and under the shelter of Belshazzar his son, and we will serve them for many days and find mercy in their sight.

Command with a Promise

So, what is the command here? Pray for the life of the king and his son and that their days on earth may be like the days of heaven. What does this mean to us? We have no king. The expectation here is that we pray for our leaders, whether we voted them into office or not. We are to pray for those who have been put into a position of authority over us. Our politicians, our managers, our parents, our teachers, our priests and bishops. Then what is the promise that goes with this command? The Lord will gave us strength and enlighten our eyes He will bless those leaders and we will live under their shelter. We will be blessed with many days under their leadership and find mercy in their sight. As a “Christian” nation, we have really lost sight of this command. No wonder we are not seeing these promises unfold in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Jeremiah 40:6-9 (33:6-9)

‘Behold, I bring her health and healing for her wounds, and I will show them how to obey. Yes, I will heal this city and bring about peace and faithfulness. I shall return the captives of Judah and Israel and will restore them, even as before. I will cleanse them from all their wrongdoings by which they sinned against Me. I will not remember their sins by which they sinned against Me and withdrew from Me. This shall be for the gladness, praise, and majesty of all the people of the earth, who shall hear all the good things I will do. They shall fear and be provoked concerning all the good things and the peace I shall bring upon them.’

Encouraging Words

God promises here all the great things that He will do for His errant children. He promises to bring health and healing for their wounds, show them how to obey Him, heal their land and bring them peace and faithfulness, return those who have been taken captive, cleanse them from their wrongdoings and sins, and not remember those sins any more. This is not just a promise for the nation, but for all who had wandered away from Him and have returned to His loving arms. He will demonstrate to us the love that He has always had for us. Glory bet God!

Jeremiah 39:27 (32:27)

I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Shall anything be hidden from Me?

Personal Challenge

Oh, foolish mankind. How often do we commit sins behind closed doors or in the dark thinking that no one can see us? How often do we think sinful thoughts believing that only we know what is going on in our minds? God is everywhere all the time. He knows our actions, even if hidden from all others. He knows our thoughts no matter how much we try to hide them. And yet, He loves us. He stands ready to forgive us when we turn back to Him. He does not use our sinfulness against us, but yearns for us to confess it to Him, repent from our sinful ways, and live within His love and light. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Jeremiah 38:25 (31:25)

For I have satiated every thirsty soul and filled every hungry soul.

Personal Challenge

Do we really want to be satiated by our God? Do we want Him to fill us so much with His love and mercy that it overflows and touches everyone around us? The only way that this can happen is for us to thirst and hunger for Him. That is when He satiates that thirst and hunger. If our thirst and hunger is for the world, then the world will fill us up with itself and we will never be satiated. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Jeremiah 38:3 (31:3)

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I drew you in compassion.”

Personal challenge

We humans think we know so much about love and how to love another. We may know how to love another, our spouse, our children, our parents, but at the same time we express love for our car, our job, or any other myriad of things in our lives. This is not the kind of love that God has for us. His love is everlasting. He loved us before we were even conceived. He loves us even when we reject Him and pursue sin. He loves us to the point of giving His life for us. Our ability to love, or to understand love, pales in comparison to His love. There is no surprise then, that the only two commands that Jesus gave us were to love God and love our neighbor. If we desire to be like Christ, then we must submit to His love and love those around us the way He does. Glory be to God!

Jeremiah 37:13-14 (30:16-17)

Therefore, all who devour you shall be consumed, for all your enemies shall devour themselves. Your sins multiplied because of the abundance of your wrongdoings, thus they did these things to you. But those who tore you to pieces shall be as prey, and I will give all who plundered you as plunder. For I will bring about your healing from a painful wound. I will heal you,’ says the Lord. ‘For you were called Dispersed, for they said, “She is your prey, because no one seeks her.’ ”

Personal Challenge

If we treat others around us as the world treats us, then we will reap the fruit of the world. A fruit that is bitter. We are called to live in this world as peacemakers who show others the love of God. By doing this God will bring healing to the wounds that we have incurred on our journey through life. Glory be to God!