Devotional Thoughts for Today
“Lamentation”
Jeremiah 7:16, 27–29
16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you.
27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. 29 ‘Cut off your hair and cast it away, And take up a lamentation on the bare heights; For the Lord has rejected and forsaken The generation of His wrath.’
It seems as if we can’t go very long without hearing about another shooting at a school. It seems like everyday we turn on the news, we hear about tragedies overseas as well as right here in our own backyards. Every time I see a new headline, a heaviness comes upon me, wondering how much longer such things will continue.
We didn’t address it in yesterday’s quiet time, but the words of verse 16 are quite shocking to the reader. God is commanding Jeremiah to not intercede on behalf of the people. He will not be heard. The actions of Judah are so grave that God is no longer willing to listen to Jeremiah’s pleas. Furthermore, in verse 27, God tells Jeremiah that even when he speaks the words judgment from God, the people will not listen. It makes sense why Jeremiah is called the Weeping Prophet.
As I meditated on this passage and how grim everything seems, I felt the Lord speak in a surprising way. Despite commanding Jeremiah to no longer intercede on behalf of the people, God used this passage to remind me the power of intercession. We see clear example of how God responds to the pleas of His people (see Abraham’s intercession in Gen. 18; Moses’ intercession in Ex. 33) in a way that is truly remarkable and beyond our comprehension.
The call of the church is to intercede on behalf of a fallen world. The call is to intercede now before it is too late. We are called to lament the gravity of sin that continues to destroy our world now and for the future. We must lament the inaction of the church in the face of injustice and sin. God has endowed upon His children the wonderful privilege of being able to do so—to intercede on behalf of a broken world.
I am reminded of a story I heard at the School of Evangelism when I went to OTR on missions. The speaker was sharing about how he went to the Middle East, saw a man on the street, and was convicted to pray for Him. Later that day, he had a dream where God came to him and said that he was the first person to bring that man before His throne.
Whether it’s for individuals, circumstances, or this world—may we be a people who intercede and lament over things that no others may have brought before the throne of God.
Prayer: Father, thank You for the unique privilege as Your children to be able to intercede and lament over a broken world. Too often we are swept up by the things of our own lives that we forget the pain and suffering of people, especially those who do not know You. Forgive us. Open our eyes. Break our hearts. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Ezekiel 4
Lunch Break Study
Read Nehemiah 1.1-11.
1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capitol, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.” 4 When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.’ 10 They are Your servants and Your people whom You redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech You, may Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere Your name, and make Your servant successful today and grant him compassion before this man.” Now I was the cupbearer to the king.
Questions to Consider:
- What was happening to the people of Judah and Jerusalem?
- What is Nehemiah’s immediate response? What do you notice about Nehemiah’s prayers?
- Now if you read the rest of the book, we know that God uses Nehemiah greatly to restore what remains of Judah and Jerusalem. How is the example of Nehemiah, his intercession and lamentation over his people, challenging you?
Notes:
- Nehemiah was in Susa, the capital of the Babylonian empire. He was the cupbearer of King Artaxerxes. What he heard is the grim condition of those who had survived and returned from exile to Jerusalem. The condition of the walls of Jerusalem is significant in that the wall of a city, both practically and symbolically, represented the stability of a city—in other words, Jerusalem/Judah were in serious trouble.
- Nehemiah’s immediate response is to mourn and fast, seeking the face of God, asking for discernment in such a hopeless situation. A few things to note about his prayer:
- He does not question the character of God. Despite what was happening, he trusts in the goodness of God.
- He confesses the sin of his people. He acknowledges their failure to uphold His commands.
- He reminds God of His promises that if His people return in repentance, he has faith that God is faithful to His words and promises
- He heeds to the call to action.
- Personal reflection. Perhaps at the heart of our lamentation and intercession is the understanding that God may use us as the answer to our intercession. In interceding, there is an inherent obedience to however way God may answer our prayers. Are you prepared to heed that calling?
Evening Reflection
As you have gone throughout the day, being reminded of the unique calling as God’s children to intercede, what things has the Spirit brought to your remembrance? How is God calling you to pray, and perhaps, obey in light of these things? Spend some time surrendering yourself to the will of God, trusting in His goodness and faithfulness.
At our last Encounter (a weekend retreat for men and women separately, which presents the foundational truths of the gospel through a series of talks given by a fellow brother/sister) this past March, I was again reminded of the importance of forgiveness in our lives. Our speakers often emphasized that unforgiveness is like drinking poison in the hope of hurting the other person. We think that by withholding forgiveness from others, we have some kind of power over them; in reality, we poison our own souls as we are separated from the presence of God.
Do you remember (or maybe it was only my friends and me) when we were younger, we would have this silly rule on the playground, where we could make outlandish claims and get off scot-free, as long as we did one thing: crossies? Perhaps you called it something different, but it’s this thing where you take your middle finger and twist it around your index finger, forming an “x” shape, usually held in secret behind your back. And this simple hand gesture would negate any bold-faced lies or empty promises we may have made. And no matter how unfair it may be, the rule of the playground was that you must respect the crossies.
The AMI QT Devotionals from May 28-June 2 are provided by Pastor Joshua Kim of Church of Southland. Joshua, a graduate of Emory University and Columbia Theological Seminary (M.Div.), serves as the pastor of Access (singles) Community at the Church of Southland. He is married to Christina. 
Growing up in Salt Lake City, UT, I had the unique experience of getting to know Mormons in close proximity. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met. But many of my friends who grew up in the Mormon church participated simply because that’s what they were supposed to do. I was talking to a high school friend of mine who was getting ready to go on his 2-year mission trip with the LDS church. I was curious because I knew his negative feelings toward the religion he grew up in, which showed in his lifestyle choices. But despite these feelings, he told me, “I don’t know if I really believe in this stuff, but this is what I’m supposed to do.”
When my parents sold our family home of 16 years, I tried to convince myself that it was not a sad parting. While I loved our family home— and it was certainly God’s provision to give us such space—my primary concern was more for my parents. It wasn’t until I visited our home one last time to surrender my keys, when I found myself in a flood of tears. Seeing our home that had been filled with memories, keepsakes, and valuables completely empty for someone else to move their things in, hit me with the reality that I would never live in this house again. I realized at that moment that I needed to grieve this transition properly for me to walk into the new season that God had in store for myself and my family.
The first year that I started as the youth pastor at Catalyst, I was enthusiastic, excited, and filled with idea upon ideas of all the ways I would lead our youth to love and serve the Lord. Sermon prepping, event planning, and discipleship was a complete joy, and I instantly fell in love with my kids. It was about two years into my stint when I was bombarded with certain life circumstances that began to take a toll on my physical body, as well as spiritual and emotional health. What used to be exciting became a drudge, and it was about that same time when I saw my youth kids begin to struggle with complacency and lack of excitement for our youth events. I had my wakeup call when I was preaching a message about Jesus as the true King, and each one of my students— even the active participants—seemed disengaged. I knew at that moment that my actions, attitude, and spiritual life was seeping into the very lives that God had entrusted me with; and I needed to do everything I could to get well, not only for myself, but also for my students.
In 2014, after living apart from my family for five years, the Lord convicted me to move back in with my parents. It was an extremely difficult decision because of my long family history, but upon hearing from the Lord that this was my next mission field, I went in faith. It wasn’t long into my move when I started experiencing the same tensions that had originally made me believe I would never live at home again. I began to react to my old ways and I felt I was being everything but the beacon of light to my family that God had called me to. It was during this time when I had one of the most vivid dreams — my mother was nearing the end of her life, and during her last moments all I could say and feel was the remorse and regret for not treating her right and spending more time with her. Upon waking up, I knew the Lord was warning me of the regret I would feel if I did not mend my relationship with my mother.
Sometime last summer, I was at our church office working especially late preparing for three large events, when I heard our church doorbell ring. Assuming it was a fellow staff member who might have forgotten their keys, I unassumingly opened the door to find a homeless man covered in soot. Startled, but concerned, I asked the man if he needed food or water. He politely declined and simply asked if I had socks in the building. Upon looking at his feet, I noticed that he was bleeding on his foot; yet not having any clothes at our office, the man asked if I could call an ambulance for him. Soon after, the paramedics and police arrived; and upon seeing the man, they began to interrogate him without ever asking if he was hurt. Their first words were, “Why are you so dirty?” It was an absolutely heartbreaking experience to see the people who took an oath to serve and protect the community marginalize this man without a concern for his health—simply because of his state.
Growing up my mother was the epitome of the Asian tiger mom: authoritative, controlling, and all about her rules. Truth be told, I grew up fearing my mother out of apprehension of how she would dictate my life if I went against her ways. And thus, I got good grades in fear that she’d send me to more after school programs, I never argued back in fear that she would scold me, and I stayed home when asked in fear that she would never let me hang out with my friends. While it would take me years to understand that it was my mother’s love for me that compelled her, my fear certainly instilled in me the need to do what was right.
Back in 2014, after moving to the suburbs of New Jersey and starting a 9 to 6 job, I felt an urgency to bring some new excitement into my daily routine. Thus, in my efforts to bring some joy into my daily grind, I attempted to pick up a new hobby – gardening. So I went and bought three succulents and propagated a dozen of its leaves until I had about fifteen plants on my window sill. I diligently watered those plants, gave it plenty of sunlight, and repotted them as they grew bigger. My goal was to get these little succulents I had bought for $5 to grow to become big, luscious succulents that I could replant in beautiful flower pots around our family home. Let’s just say, I went from fifteen plants to one pink moon cactus. The problem: I didn’t prune the leaves, all in my attempts to get them to grow bigger!