04/05/2023
Daily Devotional
Begin your day in God's Word.
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Jeremiah 39:1-18
“Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.” (Jeremiah 39:11-12)
DAYBREAK
JEREMIAH 39
God always cares and watches out for His faithful followers, and sometimes that is demonstrated in remarkable ways. For example, in the late 1970s, a young Christian man, Beni, was conscripted into the army in communist Romania. He knew that God would be with him and “look well” to him as he continued serving the Lord while in the military.
Beni was first sent to the military base in the country’s capital, Bucharest. While there at a general assembly, an extremely gruff colonel asked the large crowd of new soldiers, “Are there any Christians here?” Beni hesitated for a moment and then raised his hand. He was the only one in the crowd of over one thousand men to do so. Quickly the military police came and took him away.
A captain then gave him a second chance — an opportunity to change his mind — but he was unwilling to deny his faith. The captain let Beni know that he was going to send him to a prison where there was an exceptionally cruel guard. He said this guard was so mean that he literally walked around grinding his teeth and relished beating the inmates.
A few days after arriving at the prison, the mean guard came into Beni’s cell and roared, “So, you’re a Christian!” “Yes I am,” Beni replied. At that reply, the guard’s countenance softened and he told Beni that his mother was a Christian. Rather than causing Beni any harm, this guard treated him well and protected him during his time at that prison. None of the harm the captain imagined ever happened to Beni while he was in the army. Because of Beni’s faithfulness, God caused the guard to act in an uncharacteristic way.
Similarly, God caused Nebuchadnezzar to act in an unusual way and arrange for the Prophet Jeremiah to be treated well. Jeremiah was in Jerusalem when the Babylonian army, which was known for its cruelty, breached the walls and sacked the city. However, Jeremiah had remained faithful in his service to God and during this time of vicious destruction, he was treated well and no harm came to him.
Like Beni and Jeremiah, if we determine to be faithful and stand for God no matter the personal cost, the Lord will work on our behalf. At times it may not seem as if our lives “go well,” and we may not have the blessing of being free from harm here on earth. However, we will have the benefits of God’s comfort and strength even during the most difficult of times. And in addition, we have the ultimate “no harm” promise of eternal life to come as we keep faithfully serving Christ.