Day 42: Jeremiah 46:28

"Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, for I am with you, says the Lord. I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished." ~Jeremiah 46:28, NLT

Okay. So I'm not a Jacob. But I AM God's servant. Thus, to me the Lord says I shouldn't be afraid, because HE is with me. That is the most important part, and if you've got that you don't even need to read any more.

But I'm going to write more because of what God says next. He will completely destroy the nations He has exiled me to - the world and Satan, nowadays - but He won't completely destroy me for my sins. And that is a reason to hope. (Although I already knew this, since I've got Jesus... but anyways, it's a good reminder!)

All that hope doesn't mean He's not going to discipline me, though! It's not like I can just get away with anything because He'll forgive me afterward. Every sin has physical consequences. We can't get away unpunished! Be it failure of health, be it failure in family, be it an "F" at school, sin has consequences. And we can't just ignore that. But we don't need to be afraid of being "not good enough," and we certainly needn't fear God destroying us completely, or God allowing the devil to crush us. As long as we're following Him, His hand will be upon us, to hold us on the right path and to protect us. Amen!