SAINTS MARTHA, MARY, AND LAZARUS (MEMORIAL)

So had I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me. 

God certainly found a memorable way to deliver his message! He told Jeremiah to buy a linen loincloth, put it on, and walk around the village of Parah. He then told Jeremiah to bury the cloth in a damp cave near the river, where it became moldy. The rotting of this fine garment served as a visual parable to the people that dramatized what was happening to their hearts as they distanced themselves from the Lord.

Jeremiah’s prophetic gesture was clear: we need to cling to the Lord! But clinging to the Lord can sound a little extreme, can’t it? How do we “cling” to him when life can be so crowded and chaotic?

Maybe instead of worrying whether you’re clinging to Jesus every moment of the day, you can try a different approach. Just take a few moments every few hours to examine your heart. Are you at peace? Has the busyness of the day or a temptation or even some sin clouded your connection with the Lord? Are you at odds with someone to the extent that it is interfering with your ability to trust in God’s care for you?

If you find that you are feeling disconnected from the Lord, offer up a short prayer and ask him to bring you closer. If you realize that you have wandered too far from him, ask for forgiveness right away and correct your path. And if you’re struggling in any way, leave it in his hands and move on with your day. Trust that over time, the Lord will help you work through whatever obstacles you may be experiencing.

It’s not always easy to cling to the Lord. Sometimes it takes a real effort to turn our hearts back to him. But know this: your heavenly Father knows you inside and out. He knows about your struggles, but he also knows how much you love him. He sees your every effort to please him, he appreciates each of them, and he promises to fill them all with his grace. So every time you turn to him in your day, remember that as much as you want to cling to him, he wants it even more. He loves you, and he promises to help you love him in return.

“Lord, thank you for loving me so faithfully. Help me to cling to you every moment of my day!”

Jeremiah 13:1-11
(Psalm) Deuteronomy 32:18-21
Matthew 13:31-35