Jeremiah 24:5: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans.”

October 23rd, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

God gave His prophet Jeremiah a vision of 2 baskets of figs. He then explained that the good figs were His children that had already been carried into captivity. It seemed like they were being punished, but in reality, they were being protected. Sometimes in life we find that what seems like rejection is, in the final analysis, God’s protection on our lives and families. Those who were carried to Babylon did not realize it was “for their own good.” They probably erroneously thought: “God has forsaken us,” rather than “God has protected us.” But by being taken away, they were spared the terrible, prolonged siege on Jerusalem by Babylon. In eternity we will no doubt find that the times we thought God had failed us were really when He was most protecting us.

We see something of this in the story of Corrie ten Boom, who was held in the Nazi prison camp, Ravensbruck, during WWII. The prisoners were upset when they were moved into a barrack that was infested with fleas. They felt like God had totally forgotten them. But they later discovered that because of the fleas the Nazi soldiers refused to go inside their barrack, giving them great freedom to teach from the little Bible they had smuggled into the camp. Corrie later wrote that she was sure it was God’s hand that moved them to flea-infested quarters to protect them. We, like them, misunderstand that it is God’s hand working for our good as it says in Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to those who love God.”

“LORD, we have seen Your hand of blessing in our lives for our good when we first thought otherwise. Forgive us for our unbelief and walk with us this day.”