June 18 - Pain that Has No Cure

Today's Reading:
Jeremiah 30:1-31:2
Revelation 18:1-24
Proverbs 6:20-29 
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Focus Verses:
Jeremiah 30:15, 18-19
15 Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you. - - - 18 "This is what the LORD says: " 'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. 19 From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained.

Insight:
The consequences of Israel's guilt and sin were painful and inevitable. Their wound could not be cured apart from the correction and discipline God was bringing upon them. God's intentions, however, were not merely punitive, but rather redemptive. God's promise was that they would come through the correction and suffering to a place of restoration and renewal. The mourning and sorrow of discipline would eventually be replaced with songs of thanksgiving and sounds of rejoicing.

Response and Action:
I must always remember that God's love and good will toward me does not mean that he will spare me from every consequence of sin. In fact, the consequences of sin are sometimes a necessary part of being refined and purified. Distress is often a part of being disciplined. The pain of correction is often a prerequisite to the blessing of renewal.

I will trust God to discipline and renew me, just as a loving father disciplines and blesses his children. When I face consequences for my sins and mistakes, I will humble myself before God, turn away from sin, and gain wisdom from lessons learned. I will also look forward with confidence in God to restore and renew me.

O God, have mercy upon me, a sinner. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of salvation and uphold me by your liberating Spirit. Help me to delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Hebrews 12:11
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Resources:
The Smell of Sin: And the Fresh Air of Grace
by Don Everts