The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3.

I can’t help but ponder the reality we live in in this world broken by sin and idolatry…do we truly know Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit? We think we know. The psalmist of Psalm 80 wrote as though he and those receiving this psalm knew. Yet he writes as though God caused the tears they are suffering. How long, Lord God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful. You have made us an object of derision in our neighbors, and our enemies mock us. v. 4-6. He writes as though they suffer because of God. Can we not remember? See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. Deuteronomy 11:26-28. God is our blessing and He shares life that is abundant and good and He gives us laws of life that are abundant and good. When we do wrong we suffer. And when we turn to God and walk with Him, we know blessings in Him with us that cannot be contained and that spill outward to others. Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved…v. 3, 7, 19. Restore us how? Restore us to our Creator God! Restore us to knowing our need is great and He is here to help us. Restore us to honoring God with our hearts and minds and any tears we shed will be tears of joy in humbleness and thankfulness for all He does for us. Restore us to knowing God is our blessing and in Him we are blessed. There is so much He longs to give that we cannot imagine. Have you considered how big is God’s heart? I don’t think we know. I want to learn in the company of those who love Him…I want to learn with them with our God! From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17…After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” Mark 1:14-15. Our Creator God is our blessing. Our part is to believe and repent and turn to Him. Begin to learn. It’s so good to learn with God helping us!