For the record

The Lord sent another word to Jeremiah. “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah. I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it,” (Jeremiah 30: 1-3). Over the course of his ministry, Jeremiah had done a lot of public speaking. Two of his most memorable sermons were at the entrance to the temple, when all the worshippers were arriving. Jeremiah’s words had not received a positive reception. Thereafter, Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon declaring the word of the Lord. Now, the focus had changed; this time Jeremiah had to write a book for himself. The message that the Lord instructed Jeremiah to write was the same old message. It was word-for-word what he had been sharing with the people previously. However, this was the point that the Lord was revealing to Jeremiah. Sometimes, when we have heard a message very often, it can start to lose its power or significance. The apostle Paul understood the importance of maintaining the living word in our hearts for ourselves, and not solely for the benefit of others. Paul said that he was careful to discipline himself so that after he preached to others, he did not become a castaway (1 Corinthians 9: 27). Paul shared the purpose of the letter that the Lord wants every believer to write, with the believers in Corinth.  “You are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not in ink but by the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts,” (2 Corinthians 3: 3). Have you allowed the Holy Spirit of the Living God to write His letter on your heart? Do you have every word that the Lord spoke to you written in your own little book? God has promised that He will always be with His children (Matthew 28: 20). Meditate on this promise, and then write it down in your praise journal. Then, when times are rough, you have the word of the Lord, and the promises He has kept, just for the record.