God’s Covenant with David
Open Your Bible
Jeremiah 33:1-26, Jeremiah 34:1-22, Psalm 107:19-22, Romans 8:16-17
BY Bailey Gillespie
Kids have an uncanny knack for extending their bedtime routine way longer than it needs to last. They try delaying the inevitable by distracting you with all manner of things, like missing pajamas, a long-winded yarn about a sibling, or a third reading of Goodnight, Moon. Unless your kid is one of those miracle children who quickly settles into sleep, as soon as you turn off the lights and shut the door, you hear it: the call of distress.
Sometimes you answer right away. Sometimes you don’t (especially if you know the routine like the back of your hand). Eventually, you may have to let the child’s cries for one more story go unmet for the evening, even when your heart moves with the desire to give in because, at the end of the day, you can only read Goodnight, Moon so many times.
But God always wants us to call out to Him in our distress. We see this after the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah a second time and God says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:1,3). Our cries for help are really opportunities for connection with Him, for sharing great and incomprehensible things with us. As with Jeremiah, these “things” aren’t self-evident based on our experience, but given to us as insight and revelation that comes from a life of walking with God. They come from a life of crying out to Him and waiting for Him to answer. Early on in life, Jeremiah received a crash course in this practice, one that was necessary in order to follow in the steps God had prepared for his life.
The Book of Psalms also features this theme prominently. “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; he saved them from their distress” (Psalm 107:19). This call and response pattern repeats itself in beautiful depictions of God saving people from places of despondency caused by internal or external circumstances, and sometimes, both. Again and again, we hear God answering them when the time is right and with just the right antidote.
God urges us to cry out for help, like a child. We are His children, after all, and we don’t exist outside of His provision no matter how autonomous we may feel. Just like the familiar pages of a well-loved storybook, God longs to comfort us in our distress (Isaiah 30:18). Just as a parent answers a child in their distress because they hate the darkness, God wants to answer us in ours, to meet us in our need. His response to our affliction, and His timing, may look as different as the affliction itself, but He never leaves us in our distress.
58 thoughts on "God’s Covenant with David"
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I am glad to be part of the group. Getting strengthened day by day with heart touching messages. My city Hyderabad in India lockdown due to Corona pandemic. Please keep us in your prayers.
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God bless you. Praying for you.
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God is good! His mercy endures forever! He will never leave us or forsakes us! He goes before us and fights our battles! Our God never fails! He is our healer! He is our deliverer! He is faithful! These are just a few of His promises. We can trust in Him. We can rest in Him. He is our peace. ❤️. Thank you CHURCHMOUSE for your post today. You are a real blessing to me.
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Prayed for your sister, Sarah D. Just spent an hour calling out to the Lord in my distress. I tutor children with learning disabilities and am a vendor with three Charter schools. I have spent the last week figuring out the logistics of Virtual Tutoring (remote) so that I can continue to provide services for my students. I tutored 6 of my 16 students the latter part of last week, and most went well with some minor glitches. This morning everything went wrong, a parent hadn’t sent pictures of the student’s work until late last night, they were too light to print, my first student had a poor connection, and after I finally finished, I had to scan and send assignments to three parents. Of course, the technology went crazy. I kept thinking I was almost done, but no, more emails came in to address things I had already taken care of! WHAT’S THE POINT OF ALL THIS? I USUALLY SPEND TIME PRAYING AND READING THE WORD BEFORE MY WORK DAY BEGINS. THERE WAS NO TIME THIS MORNING. ONE OF THE PLACES THAT THE ENEMY ATTACKS ME IS WITH FRUSTRATION. I HAVE REALLY TRIED TO RECOGNIZE AND CONFESS THIS AND TAKE MY THOUGHTS CAPTIVE BEFORE LOSING IT. BUT TODAY THE ENEMY HAD HIS WAY. I FINALLY RETREATED TO MY SECRET PLACE AND WEPT AND CRIED AND READ TODAY’S READING. THANK YOU LORD FOR ALWAYS ENTREATING ME TO RETURN!
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Hi SRT family, just wanted to ask for prayers. Last week my sister, her husband, and my almost 2 year old niece announced that they were pregnant again…but sadly just now my sister called saying that she had a miscarriage. I know from reading SRT sisters comments that many of you have experienced this. I am single and in college so I have not, but I can only imagine how painful it must be. Please pray for my sister and her husband as they go through this really difficult time…and please pray for me that I would be able to encourage them, in the right timing and with the right words. Please pray for God’s comfort and that they would know God is right there with them in this. Love you all.
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I’m so thankful we have a good God who we can cry out to in times of distress. Not only does he hear our prayers, he urged us to seek him.
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Good morning from New Zealand !! In 24hrs we go into nation wide self isolation because of Covid-19. I am still so overwhelmed by the applicability of Jeremiahs book through this Lenten period. The verses today seemed to illustrate what is to come for us as a nation but also that there is hope and that GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL.
I am so grateful to be part of this community in a time of great isolation. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom ❤️ -
Today’s Bible readings and devotional hit home and I needed to hear them. As I read Jeremiah 33 I couldn’t help but go back to verse 3 “‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’” God said this thousands and thousands of years ago but I believe it holds true today, right now. Then in verse 6 God tells Jeremiah and His people “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. ’” I believe this is also message meant for us now. In the devotional Bailey Gillespie says “Our cries for help are really opportunities for connection with Him, for sharing great and incomprehensible things with us.” She is right and we need to share with others even if we can’t get outside to do it. We can call or write or text or sing our praises. If others hear us listening to Christian music or podcasts that is a way to show our love and praise. “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind. And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices, and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.” (Psalm 107: 21-22) Bailey goes on to point out “His response to our affliction, and His timing, may look as different as the affliction itself, but He never leaves us in our distress.” This is a good reminder that God doesn’t forget about us, He just does things in His own time not in our time. I don’t know about you but at times this can make me frustrated. We need to also remember what Romans 8:16-17 says “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” I want to share in His glory so I need to remember that there will be times of suffering just like Christ had to suffer. I hope all of this makes sense and it didn’t ramble. I is what I felt I needed to share with you my sisters.
Praises be to God and Christ that we have each other and SRT to share our love for Them with each other. Amen -
Amen
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