Bible League: Living His Word "For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish."— Jeremiah 31:25 ESV It's not just the body that can get tired. The soul of a person can get tired as well. It happens when negative things hang on and on. It happens when victory is elusive. Has it happened to you or to someone close to you? It was probably spiritually tiring, and it may have made you spiritually weary. It may have felt like you were living in a fog and couldn't see your way forward. People tried to perk you up, but nothing significant came of it. When that happens, it's not just weariness of body—your soul is languishing. What does it mean for a soul to languish? It means it's stuck in the negative situation and has begun to accept it as normal. Perhaps the languishing person used to be a beacon of light in the dark places of the world, but failure after failure dimmed his light. Instead of being fired up for the tasks at hand, the languishing soul has packed it in and given up. The souls of the people of Judah were weary and languishing as well. It was because they were stuck in the Babylonian Captivity, exiled from the Promised Land because of their generational sins. There they got weary. There they languished. They began to think it was a permanent situation. But it wasn't for them—and it's not for you. God has made promises to His people. And He keeps them. He has promised that this weary time will not last forever. Your exile in the place of weariness and languishing is over. The time has come to start over. The time has come to pick up and go forward again in the strength of the Lord. It's the 'new thing' the prophet Isaiah spoke about: "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19). Can't you see it? The first signs of it are already making their appearance. Can you feel the strength returning to your weary soul? Can you tell that your languishing soul is being replenished? Sing with me: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want!" Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingGenesis 33, 34, 35 Genesis 33 -- Jacob Meets Esau, Settles in Shechem NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 34 -- Shechem Defiles Dinah and is Avenged by Jacob NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 35 -- Jacob Returns to Bethel; Jacob Named Israel; Deaths of Rachel and Isaac NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 11 Matthew 11 -- John's Disciples and Jesus' Tribute; Woe to Unrepentant Cities; Rest for the Weary NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.Insight Obeying our parents is our main task when we are young, but honoring them should continue even beyond their deaths. Honoring involves all that sons and daughters do with their lives—the way they work and talk, the values they hold, and the morals they practice. Challenge What are you doing to show respect to your parents? Are you living in a way that brings honor to them? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Matthew 14:30 Beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.Sinking times are praying times with the Lord's servants. Peter neglected prayer at starting upon his venturous journey, but when he began to sink his danger made him a suppliant, and his cry though late was not too late. In our hours of bodily pain and mental anguish, we find ourselves as naturally driven to prayer as the wreck is driven upon the shore by the waves. The fox hies to its hole for protection; the bird flies to the wood for shelter; and even so the tried believer hastens to the mercy seat for safety. Heaven's great harbor of refuge is All-prayer; thousands of weather-beaten vessels have found a haven there, and the moment a storm comes on, it is wise for us to make for it with all sail. Short prayers are long enough. There were but three words in the petition which Peter gasped out, but they were sufficient for his purpose. Not length but strength is desirable. A sense of need is a mighty teacher of brevity. If our prayers had less of the tail feathers of pride and more wing they would be all the better. Verbiage is to devotion as chaff to the wheat. Precious things lie in small compass, and all that is real prayer in many a long address might have been uttered in a petition as short as that of Peter. Our extremities are the Lord's opportunities. Immediately a keen sense of danger forces an anxious cry from us the ear of Jesus hears, and with him ear and heart go together, and the hand does not long linger. At the last moment we appeal to our Master, but his swift hand makes up for our delays by instant and effectual action. Are we nearly engulfed by the boisterous waters of affliction? Let us then lift up our souls unto our Saviour, and we may rest assured that he will not suffer us to perish. When we can do nothing Jesus can do all things; let us enlist his powerful aid upon our side, and all will be well. Daily Light on the Daily Path Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."Isaiah 52:14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. Luke 22:53 "While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours." John 19:11 Jesus answered, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." 1 John 3:8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. Mark 1:34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Mark 16:17 "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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