Scripture:

Jeremiah 38:8-10

8 Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, 9 “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

Jeremiah 1:19

 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Not Overcome

I was reminded of this truth recently: many of the strongest people have scars, and often people celebrate their strength, but they have no idea of the depth of the things that got them to that place of strength- the trials, the hurt, the brokenness.   I often tell people it is the things that I have been through that have made me who I am today.    And when I look back, I can see that I was not alone, that the Lord had been with me, pursuing me, helping me, strengthening me, redeeming me.   

Today in our portion we are reminded of something  that the Lord told Jeremiah in the beginning of his journey: "They will fight against you."   This is a reminder, maybe even a warning that the Christian life is going to be full of battles, personal ones, public ones, there is an enemy who never rests, who is always seeking to kill, steal and destroy God's people.   But... the good news is the story doesn't end there, because the Lord says "but will not overcome you."   That is a promise you and I can cling to, even greater is the promise that He gave Jeremiah, "for I am with you and will rescue you."   God is with us, He is battling on our behalf and He will rescue us.

Today our God-Shot is from Jeremiah 1:19.   This is for everyone who is walking with the Lord, pursuing the things of the Kingdom.

• There is a battle to be won      (The enemy will fight against you and the plans of God)
• A Victory to be Had  (He will rescue us from the hand of the enemy and he will not prevail)
• A Plan to Walk Out (The Lord has created each of us with purpose and because He is with us we will be able to walk it out.)

Father I pray for those who are still in the battle, maybe they are in their own cistern today, I pray that you would send help, redeem them from their situation, be with them, do not let the enemy prevail, we stand on this, I pray in the matchless name of Jesus, Amen!