SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Jeremiah 15:19-20 (NET)

TEXT: ¹⁹ Because of this, the Lord said,

OBSERVATION:   I believe that there are times that we all face what seems to appear like stagnancy in our respective ministries. Of course, we question God as to why He left us ‘hanging’, or why have those we minister to become so arrogant and hateful to us, but how often do we imitate Jeremiah and actually seek God out to help us see inside of our sinful selves for the actual problem? Let’s look closer at this…..

APPLICATION:   I understand that studies will show that more ministers of the gospel resign on a Monday than any other day of the week. Primarily because of their inside view of failure the day before in the pulpit, or in what was communicated between themselves and a parishioner. This is very indicative of what Jeremiah did, for he felt like he was in a ‘dead zone’ with no positive results outwardly or inwardly. Based on what God had to say to Jeremiah, it is apparent that Jeremiah was communicating negatively and portraying a negative attitude about the God who rescued him from a burning hell and promoted him to the heights of glory. I know, you would NEVER do anything like that, right? Unfortunately, it seems like we easily degrade ourselves into grumbling about things that didn’t go just like we had planned, or at least projected. We are quick to find fault, when we are just as vulnerable to sin and failure as the other person. Unlike the case of Jeremiah, we have one more thing that we would try today when trying to ‘fix’ everyone else, or every situation, for we have ‘Google’ where we could research the problem, and find hundreds of ideas on corrective measures! Friends, I trust that we will learn from Jeremiah, for when he came to his wits end, he went to God and asked for help and understanding for the situations at hand, especially the challenge of him feeling like God had forsaken him. I believe it would behoove us to ofen do a reality check with God, asking Him to open our eyes, our hearts, our emotions and our innermost feelings, so that we could receive an answer from the only One that we trust as having all of the answers. There is a saying that we use a lot in Christian circles: ‘we are sinners saved by grace’. Please let’s remind ourselves that the order of what is said in that clause remains true. We ARE sinners who sin. Praise God, many of us have surrendered our hearts to Jesus, and we are saved by His marvelous grace, but as long as we remain here on this earth, we will cave in to sin. Let’s be quick to seek the face of Jesus so that He might hear our regrets and disappointments about our sin and, in turn, help us to overcome our weaknesses so that we might glory in the cross of Jesus. Like in the case of Jeremiah, when God has cleaned us up and returned us to His glory, then He is able to use us again for His ultimate glory. Be encouraged friend, for when it seems like our ministry has become stagnant, we need to look no further than inside our own heart as we seek the face of the only One who could help us to overcome the challenges of this world and assume our rightful place with the Master.

PRAYER:   Lord Jesus, we come humbly at Your feet and seek Your holy presence in our lives. We need You to direct our every thought, word and deed, and we need Your constant reminder to always come to the cross when things seem out of control all around us. We need You, because we want to see You worshipped and adored by everyone all around us, and we personally tend to mess that up way too often. Please be our guide, our strength and our provider, so that You may be glorified in everything we do or say. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Sebring, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!