What I have read in Jeremiah 31, before nations are being destroyed by God, people are questioning why He would destroy their city, thought why would He do this to me? and God spoke through Jeremiah explaining in 31 that He will rebuild the cities, mourning will turn into joy, peace will come, and He will create a new covenant to the people. I took out of Jeremiah leading through 31 as my spiritual walk in along my life to the beginning of month 4 (Lesotho). My spiritual walk and struggles are in no comparison to nations and cities being ripped apart to the ground but this is what I learned. God sometimes has to strip everything of you to the bones. He has to let you hit rock bottom spiritually in order to build a more solid foundation. He knows that you are here and ready to live for Him and decided that you cannot continue on without going through all the hard stuff. That’s what I felt God did with me, but also knew that was a time the enemy realized that he is losing his grip on me. He fought so hard and made me feel so disconnected from the Word and made me feel like I wasn’t enough or that I cannot be the perfect Christian.
Just yesterday morning I decided to read Romans 8. I was told to read this chapter back 2 months ago by a teammate, but why did I wait? I believe God just works in His quirks and timing that I felt like yesterday I NEED to read Romans 8. I’m reading along and read, “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” -Romans? ?8:23?. Now I have seen the word Redemption before but I have never TRULY seen it till now.
During these struggles I had in the past months, I remember telling myself and God; “God when is this going to end? When does it get to the point where I can just live on God and be perfectly be content? When will I feel fulfilled by God? When will that loneliness feeling go away?” There’s more questions but that’s the just of it and that was my groaning, as mentioned in Romans 8. I have seen the happiness that other people have and all they really need is Jesus and I just wondered when I was going to get there.
First of all, EVERYTHING works in God’s timing, as mentioned in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Trust me God takes His time when it comes to me, it’s always been that way. Second, Jesus mentioned “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” -Luke? ?21:28. I see other people in their relationships with the Lord, there’s no room for comparison because God has taught me SO MUCH in just the last 5 months but also since I been little attending Sunday School. He wants me to know all these things before I can have a true and faithful relationship with Him. Third, just like I said about Jeremiah, I need to hit rock bottom in my raw self to create a solid foundation of truth and faith in order to have a forever lasting relationship in Him. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” -Philippians? ?3:20-21
What I’ve been experiencing since the beginning of Lesotho, peace, more happiness, don’t get me wrong – still some struggles. But I have learned a lot in reading His Word. I learned last month in Swaziland about the new covenant. In Jeremiah, God mentioned that He would create a new covenant for His people. Do you know what that covenant is? Have you ever heard it? I never have. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” -Hebrews? ?10:16-17?. That just completely changes everything. We no longer stand there before God completely naked and exposed with all our sins and wrongs laid out before us. When He sees you, He looks for Jesus. Jesus already took everything away and as long as we focus on Jesus. He was the perfect payment for all our wrongs and doing.
So redemption – I realized that in the battle I have been in and the process I have been through in building up a strong relationship with Christ at the center. I have felt so much happiness and content and all I feel I need is Jesus. Which is so amazing! I realize that I have hit my redemption during my time in Africa. I realized first reading Romans 8 that I thought wow, this is where I was. Just wondering when becoming a daughter of Christ would come, wondering where contentment in Christ was rather than depending on worldly features. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” -Ephesians? ?4:30? ?
