SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 39
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD. [Jeremiah 39:17-18]
This must have been an awful day, the final collapse of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah writes about it in his other book ‘Lamentations’.
How could there be any hope left, after all this.
And yet for those who did not give up on God, who stood firm to the end (like Ebed-Melek the Cushite), they will be saved – somehow, someway.
This is what many of the poor experienced, when the Babylonians left them and gave them the vineyards; this is what Jeremiah experienced, when he was released and returned to his family.

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. [Matthew 24:9-13]
Jesus also speaks of a dark, difficult day, a time when war and injustice and persecution will flood the world – and even believers will experience it.
And yet, he who stands firm to the end will be saved!
God is not the cause of this horror, it is the practical consequence of a world run by immoral, sinful principals – God-less world.
Again and again God calls and appeals for people to come back to Him, to find rescue and security in Him – but they will not.
Finally the day comes when God gives the world what it wants – total freedom from His grace and mercy, and that is when things fall apart.
But those who stand firm to the end will be saved!

Its going to get harder and harder to follow Jesus in this world.
My love for God will be tempted to grow cold – to give up on God and hope.
Satan is doing what he can to mess up my confidence in God.
And reading Lamentations, that would’ve been a tough challenge to my faith.
We should not be surprised when things get harder… Jesus warned us.
But He also encouraged us to stand firm, and He is doing so now again.
Today’s passage is an encouragement to stand firm, like Ebed-Melek the Cushite (his name means “servant of the king”).
Will I remain faithful to my king, no matter what happens?
Will I experience His rescue and security when the time of testing comes?

PRAYER:
Lord, I am not doing well with the little tests I experience each day, how will I stand firm for the big ones? I cannot, but You can, please help me stand firm!