DCLM Daily Manna 2025: DCLM Daily Manna 7 February 2025: The Peril of Heedlessness
Text: Lamentations 1:12-17 (KJV)
12 Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.
13 From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate and faint all the day.
14 The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, and come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into their hands, from whom I am not able to rise up.
15 The Lord hath trodden under foot all my mighty men in the midst of me: he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men: the Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.
16 For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.
17 Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them.
KEY VERSE: Lamentations 1:16
“For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.”
In 1969 in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people defied warnings and decided to have a “hurricane party” at the Richelieu Apartments in the face of the approaching storm Camille. Despite Police Chief Jerry Peralta’s orders to evacuate, they chose to stay and party through the worsening storm. Peralta even went as far as taking down the names of their next of kin. However, when the hurricane hit, the three-story building was completely destroyed, with only a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress as the sole survivor. This tragic event serves as a reminder of the consequences of ignoring warnings and prioritising personal desires over safety during natural disasters.
Prophet Jeremiah had warned the Israelites ceaselessly that judgment would come unless they turned from their sinful practices. They ignored him. Now, the heavy hand of God’s judgment had descended on them. As a result, He allowed their enemies to invade the land and destroy the temple, taking the people captive, and carrying them into exile.
This outcome was painful for Jeremiah. His mourning was made worse by the fact that God who should be their comforter, and intervene on their behalf, was now far from them, and had allowed their enemies a free hand to prevail. God had delivered them into the hands of the enemies from whom they had no power to escape. Their plight was terrible, all because they would not turn away from their sins.
Sin is a killer. It starts by offering individuals the freedom to do whatever they cherish. Soon, this becomes a habit, and the culprits become captives of their sinful activities. It kills any tendency to trust God and wait for His help and comfort. It separates a vile person from the holy God and makes the individual utterly without hope in this life and in the world to come. God alone grants freedom from the captivity of sin. Let us avoid habits and practices that will plunge us into eternal regret. We must, as pilgrims, be heaven-focused and live by the kingdom’s principles.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
You’d do well to review anything that blurs your view of eternity.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Matthew 22-23
Daily Manna 7 February 2025
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