Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A Fresh Encounter”
Our Bible verse for today: “If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” Jeremiah 12:5 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Without God, life will wear you out.”
I love the word picture God created for us in Jeremiah 12:5. God was using the prophet Jeremiah to try to talk some sense into the nation of Israel. As a nation they had all drifted far away from God. They were focused on the cares and pleasures of life, and their hearts were given over to the idols of the surrounding pagan people.
What the Jews were finding to be increasingly true was that no matter how much they devoted themselves to the cares and concerns of life such as earning money, building houses, and pursing pleasure, it was never enough. In fact constantly pursing the things of the world was exhausting and it was wearing them out.
In Jeremiah 12:5 God compared their silly worldly pursuits to racing with runners – mere humans. His point was that if even the average everyday cares of life are wearing you out, how in the world will you be able to handle things that really matter – like good spiritual health and your eternal destiny?
When phrased in that way we see how ridiculous their focus was. In their own power, and without God’s blessing, even regular life and taking care of common everyday things was wearing them out. That being the case there was no chance that in their own power they could accomplish truly important things like being spiritually healthy, or being in right relationship with God, or ensuring their eternal salvation.
What they needed was a fresh encounter with God. They needed to return to Him and make Him the central focus of their lives. He then would help them to be successful in ways that truly mattered.
A New Testament version of this truth is found in Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus said “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest …”
This lesson applies at least as much to us today as it did to them back then. Many Christians have drifted away from God and have a lukewarm relationship with Him at best. They’re involved in unbiblical behaviors and are therefore living outside of His blessings. As a result they are finding that even common everyday life is difficult and exhausting and not going well. So if they’re not even able to handle normal life well in their own power, how could they achieve true peace and joy, as well as good spiritual health without God’s blessing? The obvious answer is that they can’t.
The truth is that without God, life will wear you out. Come back to Him today. You cannot and will not really thrive without Him.
God Bless,
Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 