Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. – Jeremiah 15:16
In boxing, when a fighter determines that he has had enough and is ready for the match to end, his surrender is indicated by throwing a towel into the ring. Maybe you have had days when you were tempted to just throw in the towel, to give up the fight. Many have quit, but others have not. Consider Albert Einstein, the physicist who developed the theory of relativity who said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, It’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Or the words of Winston Churchill when he told the British Parliament in 1940, “We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender.”
Jeremiah was a prophet who refused to give up. His reasoning was not because of his tenacity to finish a project nor of the extremity of his courage. Rather, he put his confidence in the Lord to sustain him and deliver him and the people of Israel, though they would face famine, exile, sword, and death. In due time, God did indeed restore His people, turning their sadness into joy because, as He said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3).
Do not give up. When you fall, get back up! Keep relying on the love and faithfulness the Lord has toward you. Honor and magnify Him as the source of your strength, your resolve, your comfort, your peace, and your joy. Embrace and absorb what God said in Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” So, as Paul writes in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
Today’s Verse: Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: 1 Chronicles 16:23-34
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
24 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his place.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
30 tremble before him, all the earth;
yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
