Of all the ones who will read this Bible Bite or listen to it today, you may be the only one who can relate to the following words:

"I didn't choose my life to be this way. It is something I have to live with. Is it easy? No, it's downright hard. Is it nice, you ask. No, it is horrible. This is one of those days when I feel like screaming out from the depths of my heart: "I hate this!" But I have to live with it. Life is only so long - I can either live the rest of my years miserably and make others miserable or choose to be happy and be a blessing to others. Obviously, I have some down days, and this happens to be one of them, but mostly, I am just thankful to the Lord. The Lord's words to the Apostle Paul comfort my heart. "My grace is sufficient for you.""

The Rechabites aren’t that well known in the Word of God. It seems they may have had some family connection with Jethro – the father-in-law of Moses – a way back. But the few times they do surface in the Bible, they seem to be positively on the right side of things.

Life wasn’t easy for them. They inherited a lifestyle they never asked to live. While others built new homes, they were stuck in tents. A tent’s okay if you’re travelling, but when you have arrived, it’s time to pack up the tent and move into a house. But not the Rechabites; they woke up every morning with stuffy noses and puffy eyes. While their friends boasted of the delicious fruit they were growing and tasting from their own private vines, the Rechabites couldn’t grow vines – not even one. As for planting crops like everyone else in Israel, the Rechabites couldn’t even do that. At banquets and special events, when others celebrated with wine, the Rechabites sipped on well-water.

We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. Jeremiah 35:8-10

Did any of them say: “I can’t handle this any longer? I didn’t choose my life to be this way. It’s something I inherited. It was a condition imposed on me.”

Centuries earlier, Jonadab, the son of Rechab, imposed the above conditions on future generations of the family. A lot of water had gone under the bridge since then. Enemies had come into the land. Times were tough, but the Rechabites never wavered in their commitment to live with the conditions imposed by their forefather. What a contrast to the rest of the children of Judah, who failed God repeatedly and turned to other gods and paid very little attention to the commands of God!

God used the Rechabites to teach the children of Judah what commitment and faithfulness looked like. God told Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites into a public place in the temple and to set jugs of wine before them, along with the drinking cups and then tell them to drink the wine. Guess what? The Rechabites refused to drink a drop.

Here’s the lesson: the Rechabites lived with something they did not choose to have in their lives, but they honoured and obeyed a fallible dead leader. Judah’s leader was the living Infallible God Himself, but yet they disobeyed Him. This obscure family was commanded only once, centuries earlier, to live this way, and they obeyed and remained faithful. In contrast, God repeatedly sent messages to His people, but they kept on disobeying—no lasting commitment.

The story in Jeremiah 35 ends with a clear indication that God has rewards for obedience and faithfulness, but He also has consequences for disobedience and unfaithfulness and a lack of commitment.

Every Christian has something in their life or family they didn’t choose to have. The stories are heart-wrenching and painful, but how pleasing it must be to the Lord who sees all and knows all – to see faithfulness, fruitfulness and joyfulness in their lives. And yes, dear child of God, He rewards faithfulness, obedience and commitment.

If this is one of your bad days, click on the link below to sing along with Helen Lemmel’s hymn.

You need to know that Helen Lemmel wrote this beautiful hymn at a very dark time in her life. Her life had been wonderful! A wealthy man married her, and her Christian life seemed so smooth. But later, she became blind. Yes, blind. Her husband literally abandoned her, and she lived on government assistance in a small bedroom and remained faithful and happy in the Lord until she passed away at age 98. It was after she lost her sight and everything else she owned that she penned these beautiful words:

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.

Refrain:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Don’t hesitate to share a thought from your personal experience in the comment section below. Or, if you would like to reach out privately, click below.