Day 91, Year 1 Understanding God’s Works and Principles

“Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the judgment of their God.'” (Jeremiah 5:4 NKJV)

The previous devotionals mentioned that believers should forsake foolishness. Actually, it is to replace our foolishness with understanding God’s principles and the reasons behind His works and cooperating with Him. Today’s verse comes from the Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament. Jeremiah lived in the period before and after the destruction of the southern kingdom of Israel. As the nation faced imminent destruction at the hands of foreign powers, many Israelites were greatly perplexed. They could not understand how God could abandon the blessed descendants of Abraham, Jerusalem, and the sanctuary. As mentioned before, this was a time when God showed His “deceit” or “crookedness” to His people.

The “way” and “judgment” mentioned in today’s verse refer to what God is currently doing and the reasons behind them. God abandoned His temple at that time due to the accumulated sins of idolatry, etc. But He never changes. He simply punishes or blesses people for their sins or reverence. In light of this, the paramount thing in knowing God is not just understanding His promises and the specific things He has done, but understanding the principles and reasons behind His actions, and what we should do at the moment accordingly. When we turn away from a particular sin, we need to abandon related habitual thoughts, mechanisms, and behaviors. We also need to receive God’s works and understand His principles, such that we can turn back from foolishness, receive wisdom, and obey His thoughts and will.

During the initial “honeymoon phase” of many believers’ faith journeys, we might feel that our prayers are quickly answered and experience rapid spiritual growth when we turn from sins and return to the Lord Jesus. However, we might later feel God’s rebuke come upon us for no reason. In reality, this is not for no reason, it is God dealing with the iniquities and weaknesses within us. He wants to tackle various forms of absurdity and weakness that we have acquired from genetics, upbringing, and worldly education from a young age. We should be clear that God is not rebuking the inherent nobility or our own value, but wants to separate us from our iniquities, foolishness, and weaknesses, calling us to abandon all of them. Meanwhile, we can gain wisdom from Him by understanding and examining His works and principles, while learning God’s wisdom is closely tied to acquaintance with the Bible and understanding everything He has done.

Reflection questions:

1) From the past until now, do you think understanding God’s works and principles has helped you strike out your foolishness and gain His wisdom? If not enough, why? And how can you make a remedy?

2) Have you ever felt God reprove you for no apparent reason? If so, how would you react?