Do It Again by Ann Elaine Broughton
“After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up” (Jeremiah 36:28 NIV).
This is the story about a prophet named Jeremiah and his scribe, Baruch. Jeremiah had dictated to Baruch God’s warnings to the people of Israel to repent. The king did not like the words so he had burned them. It had taken twenty years to write those scrolls. Can you imagine how Jeremiah and Baruch felt when they heard the news that their scrolls had been burned up? But God told Jeremiah to take another scroll and write down what was on the first one, and what is most important to remember is that they did. They obeyed God and started all over again and because of their diligence we have their example to follow because we can now read what they wrote in the Bible.
What is God asking you to do again that seems very difficult for you?
Sometimes it is difficult to keep doing a job whether in the workplace or in church that seems tremendously difficult and thankless, but God is trying to teach you a lesson in trusting Him to help you persevere. It is important to learn this lesson so that you can mature as a Christian. God has placed you in your position for a very good reason and you must keep doing it again even when you might be tempted to give up.
Don’t give up, but trust in the Lord and ask Him for wisdom to handle whatever you have to deal with each day. Jeremiah and Baruch started right away to write the scrolls and even added more to them than before, so you see what seemed to be such a big job, ended up being even more beneficial for everyone. God knows your abilities and He knows that you are far more capable than you think. Just believe that God put you where you are for a purpose and that He can reveal to you exactly what you need in order to solve any problem. Just do it again.
Dear Lord,
I know that you have given me all the skills and abilities to do your will. Help me, even when I am discouraged, to keep doing it again, knowing that you will give me the wisdom that I need for every situation.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
