Daily Manna 10 March
MEMORY VERSE: Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer” – Lamentations 3:8
READ: LAMENTATIONS 3:1-8 (KJV)
I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.
2 He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3 Surely He has turned His hand against me
Time and time again throughout the day.
4 He has aged my flesh and my skin,
And broken my bones.
5 He has besieged me
And surrounded me with bitterness and [a]woe.
6 He has set me in dark places
Like the dead of long ago.
7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out;
He has made my chain heavy.
8 Even when I cry and shout,
He shuts out my prayer.
Read yesterday’s Daily Manna here
The wrath of God is an expression of His righteousness, justice and holiness. When provoked by wicked behaviour of individuals, families and people, He refuses to listen. Unfortunately, rebellion, child abuse, pornography, rape, wickedness, stealing, corruption, violence, hatred, terrorism and serial killings are all over the place today. These wicked practices incur the wrath of Him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.
Yet, He never forgets to show mercy, even to the undeserving. The lamentation of Jeremiah the prophet with special reference to our passage today furnishes us with the reward of sin and backsliding. It reveals the dark and cloudy periods of God’s chastisement of His people for transgressions. Though they had a special place in His heart because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God never failed to punish them for their transgressions, except in cases where there was prompt repentance.
The punishment for sin of disobedience and repeated backsliding are heavy. This, we see in the prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed. He pours his complaints and anguished soul before the Lord. Sincere prayer and confession of sin from a contrite heart for reestablishing of cordial relations with the Lord always result in mercy and pardon from God.
Today, our hopeless or helpless situations can be changed when we open up to God in penitence and sincere repentance. It is only then that He will listen from heaven and heal our land. Whatever affects your life, be it sorrow, affliction or heavy burden, take it to the Lord in prayer. Men may be too little to solve our great problems; God is never too big to handle our smallest troubles and trials.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sincere repentance open the door of mercy.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: NUMBERS 8–10
Thank you for studying today’s Daily Manna – When God Refuses to Listen – by Pastor Enoch A.
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Daily Manna 10 March 2021
