An Everlasting Love

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

“In that day,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.  This is what the Lord says:  “Those who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land, for I will give rest to the people of Israel.”  Long ago the Lord said to Israel:  “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.  With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.  I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.  You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines.  Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.  The day will come when watchmen will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord our God.’”  

Jeremiah 31:1-6

My Mom and Dad were married for more than 60 years.  Dad was always the one who had a funny line (or corny joke).  One of his favorites was telling how, when they first met, Cecilia wanted nothing to do with Elwood.  Then, Dad, with a telling twinkle in his eyes would smile and say:  Yeah…she didn’t like me, but I chased and chased her until she caught me!  Inscribed on the inside of their wedding rings were just two letters, O.F.  Those engravings were the first letters of the words, Only Forever.  Their marriage was not built entirely on sentimental emotion, but the kind of commitment tied to the very last breath God would give them.  It stuck, and I was blessed to have grown up in a family with that kind of commitment and example.  It was a very present assurance, throughout my life, and to the end of theirs, the knowledge, through thick and thin times, without much of this world’s trinkets or position, we always had each other. 

God’s prophet, Jeremiah, reminded Israel with another two words:  coming destruction. There were incredibly difficult times on their horizon.  Blood would be spilled, and freedom would vanish.  They would be at their captor’s whim, serving as slaves to a heartless and evil despot. 

Then Jeremiah delivered the punchline:  their God loved them with a love that was stronger than any captivity or national disaster!  His love was everlasting, never to fade like fickle passions.  No matter what may come, God would be there, and hope was real.

Jeremiah was part of Israel’s hope.  His presence and faithful ways manifested the love and promises of God all the way through the captivities.  Although the prophet himself never saw another day of liberty in his earthly life, God’s promises he’d shared with Israel became the reality of their eventual freedom.  And that everlasting love still stands for God’s beloved nation…and will stand throughout eternity.

For You Today  

The promises of God are eternal, and without wavering.  Here is one of those promises you can count on, because God’s beloved Son, Jesus offered it:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Matthew 11:28

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

       Giving Thanks   and   The View of Forever Right Now

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Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©