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A Glimpse of Hope
Jeremiah 2:9
"Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead."
One of the greatest attributes about God is that He is a longsuffering God. You can see this attribute in the verse above when it says, "Wherefore I will yet plead with you,..." God mentioned in the previous verses the sins of His people and how He tried to bring them back to Him. However, though God tried to get them to come back, they continued in their sin. Yet, though God's people continued in their sin, He was not willing to give up on them. In fact, He said that He would continue to plead with them to come back to Him.
This example that God gives should motivate you to never give up on those whom you are trying to reach. As long as their is a glimpse of hope for someone's return, you should continue to plead with God for them to come back. I am confident this is what the father of the prodigal son did when the son was gone. Though this son ruined his life in sin, the father waited for his son's return. As long as their was a glimpse of hope for his son's return, he kept pleading and waiting for him to come home.
Parents, when your children go wayward or rebel in the home, don't stop pleading for their return. Many parents have stopped pleading only to release the pressure of guilt from their child. No, you should not preach to your child every time you see them, but you should continue to plead with them to come back and serve God.
When your spouse has gone wayward, never give up hope for their return. You may need to spend many nights in prayer for their return, but keep on pleading with them and God for their return. There are many stories of people who prayed for years for their spouse to get right with God or get saved and finally one day saw the fruits of their pleadings.
When a Christian has backslidden from God, don't give up on that person. What you don't understand is that many times they still want to know that you care about them. I wonder how many people we have let slip through our grasp because we gave up and stopped pleading for their return. It may be someone in your Sunday school class, or someone who used to sit in your section of the church auditorium, or someone with whom you used to spend time, but you must not give up hope and stop pleading for them.
There is someone right now for whom you have stopped pleading. For whatever reason you gave up on that person. Let me encourage you that as long as their is a glimpse of hope, don't stop pleading for them. As long as they are still alive, and as long as God's Holy Spirit still works in the hearts of mankind, then there is hope for that one whom you are thinking about right now. Keep pleading for them for their return or salvation. Whether or not they return, at least they will understand that you still love them. Besides that, if you keep pleading I believe one day you will see them return. Whatever you do, don't stop pleading!