It's For Your Own Good

There are days when we look at our lives and wonder how it is that we are going through so much. We compare ourselves to others -- though we know we aren't supposed to -- and wonder how "they" are getting or experiencing what we hope and pray for while we struggle to get by. We question why God has allowed us to be moved or tossed around -- losing houses, cars, jobs, relationships, children, and more -- while those we perceive to not even be thinking about Jesus have the security and stability we desire. It's an easy trap to fall into. And the Lord has an answer that stretches even beyond the one verse many of us know (Romans 8:28... 'all things work together for our good'). God sent me today to add another bullet into your arsenal of favor. The Lord uses the metaphor of ripe and rotten figs to encourage his people in Jeremiah 24:5.

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Then I will give them a heart to know Me, 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.

Things may not look like they are working out. They may seem to have taken a turn for the worse. You may even find that you feel like you've been ripped out of your comfort zone and out of your place of praise (I.e. Judah), but God wants you, His "good fig" to be encouraged that it's "for your own good". He's giving you an even greater heart for Him in the midst of your transition. He's reconciling your heart to His in an even greater way. This is an invitation to love from your Savior. If you allow yourself to relinquish control, you'll find yourself falling deeper and deeper in love with Him.

Nothing is greater than that. Be encouraged!

-MinD