Daily EncouragementSample

The sign of a branch of an almond tree was given to Jeremiah for his encouragement. The almond tree is the “awake tree.” The point in the play on words is that God is not asleep, but awake, fulfilling his word. There are times when God seems to be asleep. This is particularly so in times when the state of the people of God is at a low ebb. The same is true when the work of the Lord itself appears to be in jeopardy, or when individual servants of God feel like giving up. And all this was true of Jeremiah and his day. The truth is that God is always awake, watching over his word and the fulfilment of his purpose. He is awake in judgement. It is a true saying that “the history of the world is the judgement of the world.” When the Babylonians come against Jerusalem, it is God who summons them to come (verse 15). He is awake, working out his purpose for his people and comforting his servants. God expects his people to trust him even when he seems to be asleep. He expects them to affirm, even when the city wall is broken through (Jer. 52:7), that “He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps. 121:3-4).