by Heather Tietz
Behold, I will bring it health and healing, and I will cure them; and I will reveal to them abundance of peace and truth. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against me. I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against me and by which they have transgressed against me.
When this prophecy in Jeremiah is given, Jerusalem is a mess.
Their king is overtaken. Their temple is demolished. Even the shepherds don’t have pasture for their sheep.
The people of Israel were living in sin, so God allowed the Babylonians to overtake them. They suffered a holy spanking of sorts, a heavy-handed time-out.
But then, in Jeremiah 33, which contains today’s verse, God reminds His people that He has a loving plan for them. He will bring back peace. He will forgive them. He will return them back to a restored land.
We all go through times when our lives feel ransacked, when sin has opened the door for chaos.
Thank God, He is bigger than our biggest mess!
He can restore what has been taken away. If we repent, if we turn away from pursuing wrong, God will sweep us back into His protective care. Yes, we can look forward to the eventual peace of heaven, but we don’t have to wait that long. God can restore us now, too.
Has sin stormed into your life? Dig out this hope — God has a loving plan. Put yourself back in it!
What part of my life needs restoration? I will write a prayer to God asking for help cleaning up my mess.
Dear God, I renounce the sin in my life that keeps me from fully following You. Please forgive me. Restore me and bring Your holy health and cure. In Jesus’ wonderful name I pray, Amen.