Today we begin the book of Jeremiah, continue in Philippians, look at a passage in Psalms, and read from Proverbs. When this is done, what will we come away with? Will our minds be renewed and our lives transformed by the words of Almighty God? By now we should be getting a strong sense of the underlying theme of the entire Bible---God's unfailing love for us and our need for Him. Our daily Bible study should serve to set us on a higher plane and open our eyes to God's perspective of circumstances. Take for instance, our birth. From a human perspective, we are carried in our mother's womb for nine months and then come into the world. God's perspective is vastly different as we see in Jeremiah 1:5, where God is bringing Jeremiah up to speed on his beginnings. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."
This passage reminds me of the first four words of the Bible---"In the beginning God" (Genesis 1:1). The world, our lives, and all that is happening is so much more than what we see in the present. As we have seen throughout the Bible---God is working. "God has a plan for our lives. We are not accidents, nor do we exist by chance. Before we take our first breath, God knows how long we'll live (see Psalm 139:16). Long before we're born, He even knows our name (see Isaiah 44:28)" (Dr. Charles Stanley).
God uses us according to His plan regardless of our age, our speaking skills, our economic status, or our religious affiliation. We have read about instances where God used people who did not even acknowledge Him in order to carry out His purpose. Jeremiah told God he could not speak because he was too young (v. 6). God informed him that he would go where God sent him and would speak the words God gave him. He then encouraged the young Jeremiah with these words that encourage us today: "Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you" (v. 8). God touched Jeremiah's mouth (probably for Jeremiah's benefit) and told him He had put His words in his mouth and that very day had set him "over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant" (v.9-10). What a plan!
When we live with only a human perspective we may not see past the present and we tend to focus on self and on fulfilling our own desires. From God's perspective we become intensely aware of consequences related to our actions. We read God's words in Jeremiah 2:19, "Your own wickedness will correct you . . . know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God, and the fear of Me is not in you". Dr. Stanley adds this, "In most cases, the consequences for choosing sin are bound up in the sin itself". God may forgive us, however, the consequences may remain for our entire lives. God plants us "a noble vine, a seed of highest quality" (v. 21). He asks, "How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine?"
God is gracious, merciful and "deals bountifully" with us. He delivers us from death, from tears, and keeps our feet from falling. (Psalm 116:5-8). The Psalmist poses a question that is also for us: "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (v. 12-13).
Our lesson from Proverbs: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27:1). Considering this verse in its fulness in the morning should motivate us to begin our day with prayer, reminding us we do not know what we may face before the day is done.
Philippians is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Paul urges us to "rejoice in the Lord" (Philippians 3:1). His assessment of all things that are held dear from a human perspective? Paul says, "I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him" (v. 8 & 9). It's not hard to trade "up". It's not hard to leave behind rubbish for things of excellence. Paul's perspective was changed from earthly to heavenly and he saw the reality of the riches of Christ. He wrote in verse 10, " . .that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (v. 10-11). Paul experienced the resurrected Christ in his conversion, leading him to set his affection on things above. His zeal for God is obvious in his words: "Brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (v. 13-14).
Oh, to view our lives from God's perspective! How wonderful when we finally acknowledge His gracious mercy toward us and His deliverance, and take the cup of salvation in response to His goodness, praying daily for His guidance and putting our lives in His hands, ever reaching forward and pressing toward that upward call of God in Christ Jesus!
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