1 Peter 1:19 – 21 “We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever brought forth by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
This might be one of the most beautiful statements in Scripture apart from the Psalms. Remember that Peter is writing to a mixed group; some of his readers are Jewish believers while others have no prior knowledge of the prophetic scriptures at all. This is why Peter wants to point everyone in the same direction.
If you have never delved into the prophetic parts of the Bible, you have deprived yourself of an incredible blessing! For one thing, the prophets told the truth without sugar coating. If God told the prophet Nahum that Assyria was going to be overthrown, Nahum described it in vivid language. When God told Jeremiah to warn the Jews that they needed to repent or they would be carried away captive, Jeremiah did it, even though he nearly died several times. Once you realize how much the prophets suffered, you realize that nobody in his right mind would just sit down to make that stuff up!
Many of the prophets didn’t even want to be prophets in the first place. When God informed Jeremiah that He had chosen Jeremiah to be a prophet, Jeremiah protested that he was only a child and he did not know how to speak. The prophet Isaiah had a vision of the Lord in the temple that literally left him speechless as he realized that he was a man of “unclean lips.” When confronted as to his authority, the prophet Amos informed those questioning him that “I was not a prophet, nor was I the son of a prophet; rather, I was a herdsman and a tender of sycamore-fig trees. But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ (Amos 7:14-15)
But at the same time that God was using the prophets to warn His people, He was also giving them some of the most encouraging and stirring passages ever written. Here are just a few of the most comforting passages in Bible prophecy:
Isaiah 26:3-4 “You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.”
Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He never grows faint or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. Even youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not faint.”
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”
If you look up these promises, read the context in which they were given. There is far more than a short devotional can possibly cover.
PRAYER: Father God, help us to study your promises and to realize that they are for us as well as for the people for whom they were originally given. Lord, please let your day dawn and let your morning star rise and shine in our hearts. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment