He Reprimands Me in Order to Restore Me
Scripture Passage: Jeremiah 25:9-14 (NASB)
9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. 10 Moreover, I will eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
12 ‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13 I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 (For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”
SUMMARY
God sends Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to be an instrument of His judgment and destroy Judah. He takes away all sounds of joy as they serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. However, once the seventy years are complete, God says He will punish the king of Babylon and the nation for their wrongdoing. They are to be repaid according to their deeds and the works of their hands.
MEDITATION AND REFLECTION
God uses an enemy nation to fulfil His plan of judgment upon His people for seventy years. However, God is faithful and ends their ruin by placing judgment upon their captors. God ultimately works things for the good of His people. Even when judged and reprimanded for rebelling against God and turning to other idols, He makes a way for redemption. Through this, God uses seasons to break down in order to rebuild.
As I reflected on this, I was thinking about what God is trying to reprimand me of in order to restore. What are some things that I keep holding onto instead of listening to God? During this season of planning for my wedding, I find myself being frustrated over what I can and cannot afford. I struggle with comparing myself to others and fall into the fear of man rather than the fear of God. This past week was especially frustrating as I was looking at vendors on Instagram and saw all these beautiful weddings. I felt so much desire and pressure to achieve the same thing. I kept asking myself, "why couldn't I have saved more money or have a higher-paying job that can afford all these nice things?". I felt like I was being held captive by my lack of financial freedom and my insecurities. This led me to repent and turn back my focus to God.
APPLICATION
I shared with my fiancé about how I was feeling. He reminded me that this wedding is not about us. Instead of focusing on what I want, I should be focusing on glorifying God. I decided to surrender it over and not make this event about me but about Him. I will continue to remind myself to trust in His goodness and have hope in His plans of restoration.
PRAYER
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for helping me process what it is that I am still idolizing. I repent of my envious heart that wants to self-indulge. Lord help me to focus on glorifying you instead of falling into fear. I want to trust in you through times when I feel like a slave to the world. You have good plans for my future even when I don't see it at the moment. You work all things for my good. I pray that I will fix my eyes upon you and not despair. I pray that my wedding day will be a day of joy and celebration and that you will be glorified in all the details. I thank you and pray all this in Jesus' name, Amen.
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