You're Busted By The Lord Because He Loves You
Posted August 2, 2006
Jeremiah 29
God sent His people into exile because of their disobedience to His commands. Yet in the middle of their exile He continues to love them and encourage them and give them a job to do while seventy years of exile pass. Talk about a steep punishment. Their facing seventy years of consequences. But God doesn't simply cast His people off because of their disobedience. Although Isreal lost a lot of privelages and is suffering by God's hand God still expects great things from them. God's discipline in our lives is not our ticket out of holy living. In fact, living outside of His commands is what gets us into trouble in the fist place. In fact He tells His people to pray for the welfare of these foreign places because, "for in (these nation's) welfare you will find your welfare." God isn't done with them because of failure. He just continues to shape and mold them for His good pleause like He always has.
God's discipline is for love's sake. God has a good purpose for our lives and discipline takes part in seeing His plan come to life. The often quoted Jeremiah 29:11 is in the middle of this discipline process. He's not promising riches and glory right there on the spot but reminding them of His love even in their exile. I can imagine we might need to hear the words "For I know the plans I have for you delcares the Lord..." thirty years into our exile too. Just because we screw things up and God is having to deal with us we aren't done with. Find God in the middle of our discipline. Find out what he expects of us now. How can we be a blessing to those around us? How can we get on with our lives to bring God glory? Let God redeem our situation and let's leave the timing up to Him. For he truly does have good plans for us and he truly delights in us. Otherwise he wouldn't care to discipline us.
"My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves as a father the son in whom he delights." Proverbs 3:11-12
