Jeremiah 4:18 – Figgy Ricardo

Daily Devotional Bible Verse

Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart. (Jeremiah 4:18 ESV)

My husband and our boys were building a deck when his mother stopped by and brought a large bowl of freshly picked figs. The boys had a couple each….but their dad ate….and ate….and ate the figs. Jokingly the middle son chided, “Dad, you might want to slow down there.” Dad’s reply (in his best male macho voice) was, “Obviously you don’t know how to eat figs, boy!”

Later that night we had a dinner guest who stayed to visit for a while after the meal. As she departed, the door had barely closed behind her when Dad popped the handle on his recliner, leaned forward out of his chair onto his knees and then began to roll on the floor, holding his stomach and moaning. I ran to his side yelling, “What’s wrong?! What’s wrong?!” His reply, “I’m stopped!” Long story short, the figs were doing their work and he was paying a painful price.

Now, most folks might not particularly find this story amusing, and we certainly would never have made fun of his pain. But the humor came from his boastful taunt at the beginning: OBVIOUSLY YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO EAT FIGS, BOY!

His deep regret and description of himself as “stoopid” when the pain hit him made it even funnier. Once the boys and I realized he wasn’t going to die, we couldn’t help but hoot with laughter. That night our son dubbed him “Figgy Ricardo” and the label has stuck. Over the years, this story has been repeated many times in our family circle! And it’s funny every time!

What is the lesson here? Read today’s Bible verse above.

How many times have we scolded our children and told them they were “just asking for punishment “?

We Christians act like that toward God. We begin with little acts of disobedience and then keep pushing and pushing and pushing until God has to show us that He is still in control.

I heard a gospel singer say, “God cleans up messes He didn’t make.” How true! When we make a mess of our lives, we beg for God to clean it up. And you know what? He does! Just read Psalm 103:3-4

Remember, we have a loving Father who cares for us, loves us, and picks us up when we have made a mess of things, even when we have brought it upon ourselves. CJ