Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him. Psalm 32:10.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7.

I loved this today in You Are The Beloved by Henri Nouwen: “Remember you are held safe. You are loved. You are protected. You are in communion with God and with those whom God has sent you. What is of God will last. It belongs to the eternal life. Choose it, and it will be yours.”

In the notes below, in our chapter, Jeremiah 36, it said: “This happened in the summer of 605 B.C., shortly after Nebuchadnezzar’s victory over the Egyptian army at Carchemish, before the events recorded in chapters 34 and 35.” In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.” v. 1-3. So Jeremiah called a scribe, Baruch, who wrote all that Jeremiah dictated and Baruch did just as Jeremiah told him and read the scroll at the house of the Lord. The officials listened and had Baruch read all the words to them, v. 4-15. So Baruch read it to them. When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?” “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.” Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.” v. 15-19. Can you imagine how the officials felt? There is God’s word and there is the king’s authority to embrace or reject what God is telling them. They secured the scroll and went to tell the king everything. He had Jehudi get the scroll and read the scroll to him. And as Jehudi read, whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. v. 23-24. Three men protested what the king was doing…Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah. 3 men. Then the king ordered Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet to be arrested…but the Lord had hidden them. v. 25-26. So God had them write all the words on another scroll. The king had the authority to sin and burn all the words of the Lord on the scroll, but he could not destroy the words of God. “Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it both man and beast?” Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.” v. 28-31.

Remember our first verse cited above…Many are the woes of the wicked? They don’t have to choose to do what they do. Their choice and the impact of their choices brings woes and hardship not just to them but to those affected by their choices. And God’s choice? The Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him. Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, can work with hearts turned to Him in trust. We can be at peace with God. We can begin a journey with Him that brings His love into our lives. We can begin to delight in Him! We can begin to appreciate how to love others and care for their wellbeing. And every bit of that begins with trusting Him who loves so well for our good in Him. Can we see how important God’s love is for all of us? How else do you think our healing will be? At this, the final day of the year 2024, see that time is not truly marked by days or weeks or months or years, but by eternity for that is where God dwells and we can be with Him. Our choice always.