They shall return to me with their whole heart. – Jeremiah 24:7
The Old Testament nation of Judah had many struggles obeying God. Eventually, God chose to bring judgment upon them for their disobedience by exiling them from their land to the country of Babylon around 586 B.C. Following their initial exile, The Lord gave the prophet Jeremiah an interesting vision.
God showed Jeremiah two baskets of figs – one with good, ripe figs and the other with figs so bad they couldn’t be eaten. He told Jeremiah that the good figs were a representation of those in the nation of Judah who had remained faithful to Him. Although the entire nation was facing pain and judgment, it did not mean that God saw all of them exactly the same. He still saw those who were faithful to Him. As a result, He took care to send those people from the land first and already had a plan in place to eventually bring them back home someday.
God absolutely sees the difference between people who are directly responsible for His judgment and the people who are caught up in it because of those around them. This fact is just as true today in the United States. Trust that, just as He took care of Judah during one of their darkest hours, He will also care for you, through whatever America will face.
As you pray today, lift up the nation. Ask God to use you to bring healing and restoration, and that the people of the United States would turn to the Lord with their whole heart.
Today’s Verse: Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know 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.
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: Proverbs 2:1-15
My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
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.
