“7 Although our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for Your Name’s sake; our rebellions indeed are many, and we have sinned against you.
8 O hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should You be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night?
9 Why should You be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give help? Yet You, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by Your Name; do not forsake us” Jeremiah 14:8-9!
A severe drought hit Judah. People in all walks of life, from nobles to farmers, were affected by it, and they covered their heads as a sign of their distress. They had difficulty in getting enough water to keep themselves alive, and their animals were beginning to suffer from disease. Some had already died because of the lack of food (See Jeremiah 14:1-6).
Pleading on behalf of the people, Jeremiah confesses the nation’s sins. He asks God to cease acting as if he were an uninterested traveller passing through a strange land, and instead act to help them. After all, the land is His and so are the people (verses 7-9).
So consider this text. In what ways do your sins “testify against” you? In what ways can you honestly say to God, “I have sinned against You.”
Pray, then, to Jesus Christ, who is our hope in time of trouble. Pray that He will no longer act like a stranger to you, but instead pray that He will come to you. Oh Lord, don’t be a stranger in my life anymore. Be like a mighty warrior who can, indeed, give help.
Dear friends, this prayer is answered on Christmas Day when the Lord does, indeed, come into your life. And He has never left. So in these days of Advent, pray for mercy, pray for forgiveness, pray that the Lord will come to you! pray in these days that God will come again - to you - and be in your midst so that you can call on His Name, and He won’t forsake you.
Dear friends, this is a good reason for Advent. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.
From the Bible:
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10.
“Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you…It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed”
Deuteronomy 31: 6, 8.
Jesus said, “Observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” Matthew 28:20.
Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” Matthew 6:24.
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