Hi, it’s Dienece Darling doing something new today! I’m adding devotional blogs to what I write with ACW. Pondering God’s Word is something close to my heart, and I hope you enjoy looking through the Bible with me.
So, settle in, and let’s start our journey together to the foot of God’s throne.
Have you ever been reading the Bible and stopped in your tracks? Backtracked and tried to make sense out of what God just said?
That happened to me in the Book of Jeremiah a little while ago.
In chapter 30, God tells of impending, catastrophic persecution of the Jews. The commentator of my Rock of Ages Study Bible suggested it will be worse than the holocaust.
Worse than the holocaust? I thought.
I just couldn’t imagine something worse than people crowded into concentration camps, starved to death, gassed. Babies and children routinely slaughtered because they weren’t big enough to use for forced labour. Living moment to moment, breath to breath.
Sometimes lice was all that lay between you and being raped by a guard.
Corrie Ten Boom
Even outside the concentration camps, it was bad. There were families hidden in walls, attics, basements. Alive only because someone showed them mercy, but ‘How long would that mercy last?’ they must have wondered, feared. Babies born to darkness. Children unable to stretch and play. Living on scraps of food. Every noise must have made them flinch.
And the coming terror God foretells in Jeremiah 30 will be worse than that? Unfathomable.
I couldn’t get past that concept. It distracted me for several verses. My head still spinning even as I kept reading. And then God stopped me in my tracks when He said,
“Therefore fear thou not.”
Jeremiah 30:10 KJV
Therefore fear not? Even though it would be worse than the holocaust? How could they possibly not fear something so horrific?
Well, the clue is in the text. “Therefore,” God said. So, I went back to the verses before to find out what the ‘therefore’ was there for.
God promised to break off the yoke from their necks, burst their bonds. That they would serve the Lord, and He would raise up David as their king.
A promise of deliverance.
It’s not always easy to hold to the promise of deliverance when you’re in the middle of the storm, but the very next verse gives another clue about how we accomplish this.
“For I am with thee, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 30:11 KJV
I tried to picture what that might look like. A presence so calm, so wonderful that it calms the storm until you fear not.
Then I remembered how my children could be calmed just by my presence. The thunder could boom. The doctor’s needle pierced. But the nightmares, the terrors faded away because Mum did nothing more than kiss away their fears and murmur words of comfort.
God is like that for His children. Just His presence calms. He doesn’t even have to dissipate the storm. Just be there.
Let the storms rage. Though death or illness steals those we love, the promise of deliverance and the presence of God is enough not to fear.
Have you been facing something hard? Have terrors crowded around you until you felt crushed?
It may be hard to hold to the promises of God when the sky is dark, dreary, and full of doom, but when you dwell on His promises instead of your fears, God’s peace will see you through. The waves won’t seem so scary. Goliath will be just another solider.
God might not calm the storm raging around you, but He’ll calm the storm in your heart. And He’ll walk through the storm with you.
“Therefore [beloved child] fear thou not… For I am with thee.” Jeremiah 30:10-11 KJV
I needed this today. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Steph. Thank you for commenting and letting me know this blessed you.
I really enjoyed this! It was very timely for me. I am going through a storm and God is who I cling to. Praise God He walks through the storms with us! I always find verses from the Psalms are always helpful in times of trouble.
I look forward to reading more of your devotionals!
Sorry to hear you are going through a storm, Rochelle. Yes, God is such a comfort, and the perfect One on Whom to cling. I love the Psalms too. So many wonderful verses in there. I’m glad to hear this devotional was a blessing to you.
Thanks Dienece! Very well written post, to-the-point and easy to read. (As well as being deep and encouraging.)
I have a raging storm that doesn’t seem to let up (chronic illness of a family member). Hubby and I are reading through the Psalms and yesterday read Ps119:50 – “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” It struck us how the psalmist accepted that suffering is what they must endure for the moment but their comfort is in God and they trust Him with their life. We’ve both been through periods in our walk where the message from Christians seemed to be: if you’re suffering, you’re not walking with God. Of course, that message isn’t at all scriptural. Romans 5:3-4ff reminds us that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. Suffering is inevitable but we’re meant to walk through it with God.
It’s a tough message. I want my family member to be healed in Jesus’ name but God hasn’t healed them, even though they are one of His children. So, yes, I feel crushed sometimes and even angry with God.
However, when I look back on my life, I see God’s faithfulness and I know He has my loved one in His hands.
I hope I haven’t over-shared too much but I really loved your message. :o)
Thanks again x
Thank you so much for sharing your struggle. I really appreciated reading about it and understanding you a little more. So, glad this was a blessing to you.
Yes, it’s hard when the battle goes on and on. Hard to hold on to promises that feel far away, but when the sky is darkest that’s when the Light shines so bright. It amazes me how much good God can do when we trust Him through the storms. I’m glad you’ve been able to see His faithfulness to help you through.
Praying for you!
Hi Dienece, Thanks for sharing your inspiring devotional with us. 😊
My pleasure. Thank you for commenting!