Words of Hope Daily Devotional
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.
START EVERY DAY WITH HOPE
Get the Words of Hope Devotional and get daily encouragement to love God, read His Word, and meet with Him in prayer. Available in print and email.
THE DEVOTIONAL IS AVAILABLE IN YOUR EMAIL AND IN PRINT.
The Words of Hope Devotional is a non-profit, donor-supported publication whose goal is to encourage readers to grow in faith through the practice of daily Bible reading and prayer.
DINNER WITH JESUS
Breakfast on the Beach
Return, Faithless People
Read: Jeremiah 3:11-18
“Return, faithless Israel,” declares the LORD. “I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful.” (v. 12)
In her memoir Wild, Cheryl Strayed describes a pattern of infidelity that led to the breakup of her first marriage. Lamenting the damage she caused her spouse and herself, she says, “I broke my own heart” (p. 99). In Jeremiah 3, God described his people’s idolatry as marital infidelity. God’s people had broken their marriage and broken their own hearts. God was heartbroken too. But instead of rejecting his people, he pined for them. He went so far as to make a way for his people to come back.
The Bible makes it clear that all people are unfaithful. The prophet Isaiah stated, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way” (Isa. 53:6). God always makes a way for us to come back to him. For us, the way is Jesus Christ, who put our infidelity to death on the cross. Through Jeremiah, God said, “Return, faithless [people] . . . I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful” (v. 12).
The apostle John restated God’s invitation of reconciliation: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God’s love frees us from the shame of our sins and shortcomings. In Jesus, we no longer have to hide what we have been. He makes us new and welcomes us home. —Ben Van Arragon
As you pray, confess the ways you have strayed and trust God to take you back.
About the Author
Ben Van Arragon is a preacher and writer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rev. First Last
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, including Why Doesn’t God Act More Like God, Christ in the Psalms, and A Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.