The AMI QT Devotionals from August 27 to September 2 is provided by Pastor Peter Yoon of Kairos Christian Church in San Diego. Peter is a graduate of U.C. Riverside and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.). He and his wife Jessica have three very active children: Nathan, Abigail, and Jason.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
“Solitude: The Best Place to Hear from God”
Jeremiah 33:1-3 (NIV)
While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time: 2 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: 3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’
Question: If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, name three items that you’d take with you?
As kids, we’d converse over such silly and hypothetical questions. We’d name items of necessity such as food and water, then we’d laugh as we listed entertainment items such a video games and TV. But there was always one “holy” person in our group who would say, “The Bible.” Of course, an answer of such holiness and weightiness would kill our silly conversation. But there’s something to be said about God’s Word and solitude.
In this chapter, Jeremiah finds himself in solitude. Previously, the prophet had been warning of Judah’s impending doom at the hands of the Babylonians. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet spoke that eventually the city would fall with its army. Not wanting to hear the bad news, King Zedekiah of Judah had confined Jeremiah into the courtyard of the guards. It is in solitude that God speaks again to Jeremiah telling him of the “unsearchable things.”
It is in the place of solitude where God speaks to His people. Today’s technology gives us unlimited access to the latest information, ideas, news, entertainment, etc. However, it has also taken from us something that is invaluable for our spiritual growth—and that is solitude. John Ortberg writes, “Solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us.” Especially today, we must intentionally carve out space and time for this solitary confinement, so that instead of being caught up into our society’s noise, we can be arrested by God’s word.
Question: If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, name three items that you’d take with you?
Answer: A Bible. (End of Conversation)
Prayer: Lord, today, I want to know how to take a meaningful and necessary pause in my life. Help me to hear Your voice as I wait on You in silence. In Your name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Job 7
Lunch Break Study
Mark 6:30-32 (NIV)
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
Questions to Consider
- What do you think is going on in the minds and hearts of the apostles in this scene?
- Why do you think Jesus takes the apostles to a quiet place for some rest?
- How does this scene help you to understand the importance of solitude?
Notes
- Perhaps the apostles were tired and hungry, as the text would indicate. However, consider the possibility that they were feeding off of the fame they were enjoying. Consider the words of Henri Nouwen: “In solitude, I get rid of my scaffolding.” Scaffolding is the stuff we use to keep ourselves propped up, to convince ourselves that we are important. (Ortberg, John)
- Jesus understood that the mission would still take a few years. Proper rest allows God’s servants to run the marathon rather than a short sprint.
- Personal reflection.
Evening Reflection
When was the last time you took half a day to be alone with God? How about even 30 minutes walking with the Lord? Turn everything off (not on silence mode), and spend 15 minutes alone with the Lord. Ask Him to “arrest” your heart and your mind and speak to you.
According to statistics, there are 153 million orphans in the world. It has been recorded that if we were to gather all the orphans and rank the population as a nation, it would be the ninth largest country in the world. This is a heartbreaking statistic. Although this is the number of actual orphans, let us consider the number of persons in the world who live as if they are orphaned. What is meant by this? This means the number of people who believe that no one will care for them, and as a result, they live life as if they must fend for themselves. This is a lonely and stressful way for a person to live. This, however, should not be for us believers.
In basic literature, it is understood that in every story there is a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist, who is the main character and is generally the “good guy,” is provoked by the antagonist, the “bad guy.” The protagonist is the hero usually abhorring evil and preserving good.
The average lifespan of a person is said to be about 79 years. In comparison to the infinitude of time, a human life is very brief. Perhaps this is why we tend to think in the scope of finiteness. We tend to get caught up in our current situations and gauge our lives in the context of what is happening in the now. It is unnatural for us to think in the scope of eternity. We may even wonder if this is possible to do.
In these two verses, the Lord speaks of a new covenant that would be made between God and His people. The old covenant, which was written on stone tablets and the people were unable to keep, would be void as God makes a new covenant that would be written on the heart (flesh) of His people. The route to making this covenant possible would happen through the initiative of God and would also require a tremendous cost on His part. This route was forgiveness. Because of God’s love for His people and desire for a relationship with them, He says, “…I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (v.34).
We see here an image of Rachel, wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, weeping for her children who are no more (v.15). In the picture portrayed, Rachel, who represents the mother of Israel, grieves over the captivity of her descendants who have been taken into Babylonian exile. In the midst of such denoted grief and remorse, the voice of the Lord breaks through yet again with hope: “Thus says the Lord: ‘refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded,’ says the Lord; ‘and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future,’ says the Lord, ‘that your children shall come back to their own border’” (v.16). The Lord promises renewal and restoration.
There are various traditions around the world by which countries celebrate the ringing in of a new year. In China, people launch fireworks to drive away evil and celebrate the coming of a new time. In Australia, people have picnics and camp out on the beach on New Year’s Eve, and blow whistles, shake rattles, and press car horns to welcome a new year. Then, of course, in the US, we have our traditional ball dropping in NYC with a ball being slowly dropped down a pole a minute prior to midnight and people count-down to ring in a new year. These and many more other ways are traditions by which people around the world are recognizing and celebrating the faithful arriving of an expected promise—that is, a new start.
More details to follow in the coming week (will be available in September)
The AMI QT Devotionals from August 20-26 are provided by Hee Jung Lee Hee Jung, a graduate of Biblical Theological Seminary, serves at Catalyst Agape Church (New Jersey) along with her husband Pastor Sam Lee. They have four beautiful daughters.
Perhaps every young girl dreams of a chivalrous man who would one day woo her and sweep her off of her feet with a story of happily ever after. This is often the fairy tale we see in films, and it appeals to the heart because deep inside everyone (men and women) is longing to be loved in such a way. This longing of love is to be desired, chased after, and unconditionally committed to. The truth is that we need not long for it, because we are already receptors of such a fascinating love.
When we read the Bible, it is fairly easy to discern between the true and false prophets. In this passage, the true prophet is the one that has a book in the Bible named after him. But for the people of Judah, whether exiled in Babylon or scatter elsewhere, it must have been more difficult. Which prophet to believe?