Forgiveness

"Forgiveness is surrendering my right to hurt you for hurting me - Dr. James Dobson."

[Jeremiah 8:13~22] : Two Traits of God

Reflection:
The Lord Takes Away (8:13-17) One of the most famous quotations of Job is “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” It is a statement of profound truth and mystery. It speaks of the unknowable sovereignty of God but also of His eternal worthiness and blessed character. Even when God takes away, He does no evil because He is merely taking back what He freely gave through His grace and mercy. It is not as though He is stealing from others what was not originally His. In the beginning of today’s passage, God declares that He is taking back the blessings He gave to His people because they have been unfaithful to Him. It is within God’s rights to do so because He is the one who gave the blessings in the first place. So God takes away their food (v. 13), their water (v. 14), their security (v. 15), their land (v. 16), and their lives (v. 17).

Source of Hope (8:18-22) One remarkable characteristic of faithful men of God like David and Jeremiah is their ability to turn to God even when God is angry with them and punishing them. Most people tend to run away from God or avoid Him in those times, but David ran to God immediately after committing adultery with Bathsheba. Jeremiah also turns to God as his source of hope and comfort even in the midst of God pouring out His wrath on His people. In verse 18, Jeremiah calls God his “Comforter in sorrow,” which is interesting since God is also the one who is causing Jeremiah’s sorrow by bringing severe punishment upon the people. This shows that Jeremiah understands that there is no other source of comfort apart from God. Jeremiah also urges God to listen to the cry of the people (v. 19). Finally, verses 20-22 hint that salvation and healing are still available in God.

Application:
When God takes away, He is not doing evil, which means He is doing good. In fact, God can only do good. In what way is taking away blessings a good thing? Take time to meditate upon that question today and see if you can actually thank God for taking some things away from your life. - Mature Christians know how to run to God even when God is disciplining them. Let us learn to do the same.

A Letter to God:
Father in Heaven, teach me how to run into Your arms even when Your hand of discipline is against me. Thank You for taking away things in my life that distract me from focusing on You as the greatest blessing. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.