SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 4
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. [Jeremiah 4:19-20]
God reveals to Jeremiah the coming judgment, at the hands of an invading army, and he is greatly troubled, his heart is in agony.
We may think that it is cruel of God to allow this kind of evil, but the whole point of this prophecy is that this horrible suffering is the natural consequence of their sinful, wicked, perverse actions.
Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!” [Jeremiah 4:18]

If I lie, there are consequences; if I cheat, there are consequences.
If I betray someone’s trust, if I abuse someone, if I take advantage of someone that is weaker than me, or steal from my neighbour… all of these actions have consequences.
We should not think of the people of Israel as innocently minding their own business when God suddenly bases hem with judgment because they are not worshipping Him correctly.
They were extremely cruel and immoral and deceptive, and their whole nation was falling apart as a result.
Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!” [Jeremiah 4:18]

And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). [Mark 15:34]
Sin is the cause of all suffering, directly or indirectly.
But in Jesus’ case, He did not deserve to suffer like this.
Jesus drinks the bitter cup of judgment, not because He deserves it but because God asks Him to drink it for us.
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” [Matthew 26:39]
The point of all this is that God is willing to take the bitter cup of judgment (the natural consequence of our sin) away from us, if we let Him.
God doesn’t want us to suffer, and is prepared to spare us the natural consequence of our sinful choices… if we let Him.
We need to repent, to admit our sin, and to look to Him for mercy and help.
If we don’t, we will have to drink the cup ourselves.
How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!” [Jeremiah 4:18]

PRAYER:
Lord, thank You for taking this cup for me, for absorbing the full judgment of my sin Yourself. Help me to see what is at stake here, and let You drink it for me.