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
Lost Pride
Read: Jeremiah 13:1-11
Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. (v. 9)
As a prophet, Jeremiah was called to speak prophetically. He was also called to act prophetically. God commanded Jeremiah to do things that made no sense to his audience, or even Jeremiah himself. In Jeremiah 13, God told his prophet to purchase a linen garment. This finely crafted, valuable accessory no doubt became the pride of Jeremiah’s wardrobe. Then God told his prophet to bury it in the ground. Jeremiah did so, ruining his pride and joy.
God said that his chosen people were once his pride and joy. When they were obedient, they could take pride in their cherished status. When they gave themselves to idolatry and ambition, they squandered their pride. They were ruined, like linen buried in the ground. Jeremiah couldn’t redeem his ruined garment. But God would redeem his ruined people.
God does this for his lost people in every time and place. He reclaimed us by sending his true pride and joy, his Son Jesus Christ. Jesus joined us in our ruined state. His body was ruined at the cross. He was wrapped in linen and buried in the tomb. Our shame was buried with him. When God raised his Son—his pride and joy—he restored us too. In his death and resurrection, Jesus brought and is still “bringing many sons and daughters to glory” (Heb. 2:10 NIV). Through Jesus, God restores our pride and reclaims us as his pride and joy. —Ben Van Arragon
As you pray, make God your pride and know that you are his.
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.