Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Revelation for Liberation
Sheena Thomas
Long Island MTC, NY
6 I will set my eyes upon
them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up,
and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people
and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
In this passage, Jeremiah had a vision about two baskets of figs. One basket had good, ripe, and ready to eat figs while the other basket contained bad and rotten figs. At that time, some of the Jews had been taken away to Babylonia as prisoners, while some remained in their homeland. The good and bad figs didn’t represent the righteous and unrighteous people; instead the good figs had been used to depict the Jews that had been taken away as prisoners while the bad figs depicted those proud Jews who had still remained in Jerusalem. The captive Jews, who were upright in God’s eyes, were feeling dejected and abandoned. God provided this vision as a promise of hope to his people and to remind them of his love.
The Jews were special in the eyes of God for they were his chosen people. He had promised them continuous blessings and prosperity. So when the Jews were in captivity and exile they began to feel abandoned by their father. They felt as though God had turned his back on them. God became aware that their faith was fading and this was when he came and reminded them that he was still their God and that he would never abandon them. With this vision God is providing a glimpse a hope to his people. God is aware of their sufferings and he reminds them to stand strong in their faith for their battles are only the products of a bigger plan that he has in mind for his people. God provides his people his words of hope in order to sustain them through the captivity that they had to endure.
How does this vision of figs relate to us? If each and ever one of us were to examine our lives we can recall a time when we felt depressed, abandoned, and that our prayers were not heard. It is during these times when our God reminds us to be hopeful and patient in him. God promises, “I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.” These aren’t the words of a God that easily abandons or forgets his own children. Instead these are the promises of a God that has perfect timing and knows just when he needs to step in. He uses our hopeless situations to build us up in faith. God turns our everyday battles into situations that become beneficial for us. He has a bigger purpose planned for us and wants our faith in him to become stronger. Faith does not become stronger unless it has something to fight against. It is only from these struggles that we arise stronger in our faith than ever. It is through this faith that were are able to reassure ourselves that our Father will carry us out of whatever situation is trying to beat us down.
In this passage, Jeremiah had a vision about two baskets of figs. One basket had good, ripe, and ready to eat figs while the other basket contained bad and rotten figs. At that time, some of the Jews had been taken away to Babylonia as prisoners, while some remained in their homeland. The good and bad figs didn’t represent the righteous and unrighteous people; instead the good figs had been used to depict the Jews that had been taken away as prisoners while the bad figs depicted those proud Jews who had still remained in Jerusalem. The captive Jews, who were upright in God’s eyes, were feeling dejected and abandoned. God provided this vision as a promise of hope to his people and to remind them of his love.
The Jews were special in the eyes of God for they were his chosen people. He had promised them continuous blessings and prosperity. So when the Jews were in captivity and exile they began to feel abandoned by their father. They felt as though God had turned his back on them. God became aware that their faith was fading and this was when he came and reminded them that he was still their God and that he would never abandon them. With this vision God is providing a glimpse a hope to his people. God is aware of their sufferings and he reminds them to stand strong in their faith for their battles are only the products of a bigger plan that he has in mind for his people. God provides his people his words of hope in order to sustain them through the captivity that they had to endure.
How does this vision of figs relate to us? If each and ever one of us were to examine our lives we can recall a time when we felt depressed, abandoned, and that our prayers were not heard. It is during these times when our God reminds us to be hopeful and patient in him. God promises, “I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.” These aren’t the words of a God that easily abandons or forgets his own children. Instead these are the promises of a God that has perfect timing and knows just when he needs to step in. He uses our hopeless situations to build us up in faith. God turns our everyday battles into situations that become beneficial for us. He has a bigger purpose planned for us and wants our faith in him to become stronger. Faith does not become stronger unless it has something to fight against. It is only from these struggles that we arise stronger in our faith than ever. It is through this faith that were are able to reassure ourselves that our Father will carry us out of whatever situation is trying to beat us down.
PRAYER
Father, help us to stand
strong in our faith even when we feel dejected and alone with the situation
that we are in. Help us put our trust in the hope that you provide through your
promises of love. Amen.
THOUGHT
FOR THE DAY:
Can we use our hope in the Lord to encourage one another through the struggles and the low points of their lives?
Can we use our hope in the Lord to encourage one another through the struggles and the low points of their lives?