DEVOTION FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017
Read Jeremiah 1:4-10
Sustained by God’s Touch
The sense of touch has tremendous power. Studies have consistently found that compassionate forms of touch—such as holding hands, massages, petting dogs, and hugs—have multiple benefits, including reducing the levels of stress hormones in the body, lowering blood pressure, improving mood, and even enhancing brain function.
If the power of human touch is so tremendous, one can only imagine the power of God’s touch. Our reading today gives us one example in Jeremiah.
While all of the biblical prophets had difficult jobs, Jeremiah’s was especially so. He was called to proclaim that, as punishment for the sins of Judah, God was determined to destroy it, to “make Jerusalem a heap of ruins” and “lay waste the towns of Judah” (Jer. 9:11). Proclaiming the impending annihilation of one’s homeland is not, to put it mildly, a good way to make friends and influence people. And Jeremiah predictably incurred the wrath of many.
Even in the face of the most violent opposition, however, he persisted. His persistence was not merely human determination but the power of God’s touch. After all, at the start of his ministry Jeremiah was commissioned by a divine laying on of hands: “The LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘I have put my words in your mouth’ ” (v. 9). It was God who upheld Jeremiah in the face of such difficulties.
In the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, we witness God’s determination to reach out and touch not only His chosen prophets but all of humanity. The Lord extends His hand to us. When we receive that touch, we can rest assured that God will be with us, even in the face of the most daunting challenges. He has the power to deliver us.
APPLY THE WORD
Scripture assures us that the hand of God is stronger than all forces that would oppose it; when God holds us in His hand, no one can snatch us out of it (see John 10:29). Give thanks today that God’s hand holds you securely, and as you serve Him, rest in the knowledge that it is by His power, not your own, that you can be a witness for Him.
Today in the Word is a production of Moody Global Ministries
