I’ve found that the best way to process and decipher what I am learning and what God is showing me is to write about it. This blog is about two weeks overdue, and will have to come in two parts as there is a lot of information I want to give. My prayer is that you too will need some time to process this:
I have been doing an in-depth study on the book of Jeremiah for several weeks now. This morning, our teacher made some points that have set my mind in a whirlwind all day…as we begin chapter 12, we see Jeremiah basically questioning why God is allowing all the bad in the world to continue…why is the wicked prospering? He is pleading with God to judge them and even blames them for harming the land (v.4). Before I continue, it is important to understand that God chose Israel to be His people and these were the very people in which Jeremiah was irritated with. He couldn’t understand why God would allow those whom He chose to ‘get away’ with the things that they were doing…..Lets make this applicable for 2010…have you ever done this? I have.
Often times, my line of thinking is just like Jeremiah’s. Wondering why God allows for things that are happening in the world today: abortion, same-sex marriages, corruption in government, wars, celebrities and athletes getting rich while people all over the world starve and die….the list could go on. I imagine you could add several things to the list yourself.
As I discuss God’s response…and I will challenge you to look deep within your heart and ask God to speak to you if need be. In verse 5 God says: “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you have trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the flood plain of the Jordan?”
God being omniscient is basically telling Jeremiah in verse 5 that he (Jeremiah) hasn’t seen anything yet. If what is happening is bothering him this much now (if you have run with the footmen), how does he expect to handle what is yet to come (how can you contend with horses)? God knew that what Israel was doing was terrible and it grieved Him deeply…but they were His children, and just as any parent would…He had to let them go on their way, all the while knowing that they will eventually return to Him….AFTER they come up empty to what the world had to offer.
Now, why did this affect me so much and why did I feel led to write about it?? Lets bring this back to you and me….For practical purposes, I think its safe to say that we live in peace. Nobody today has told me how and where to worship, stuck a gun in my face for combat, or threatened me in any way….so for the sake of argument, I think I am living in peaceful times. So was Jeremiah at the time this was written. God was telling Jeremiah and he is telling us, that we need not worry about those things…yes, they are terrible and they break the heart of God. Yes, we should pray about them. But do we need to worry? Do we need to jump on protesting bandwagons for this cause and that? Do we need to voice every opinion we have even at the risk of damaging our witness to a watching world? I don’t think so.
Why not choose the alternative….hold close to the fact that none of this has taken God by surprise; in fact it was written about and happening thousands of years ago. Lets realize that it is going to get worse because it is prophesied in the Bible and there really isn’t anything we can do about it….and neither can our government. Wouldn’t it be more in line with the heart of God if we simply….loved? Loved the ones we find so easy to shake a fist at while we’re on our knees? Wouldn’t it bless God more to see His children more concerned with what is happening IN their hearts, rather than what is going on AROUND us? It seems to me, that we are more focused on causes and what is going on around us, than what is going on inside us….and inside me is really the only thing I have control over…..maybe its easier to fill our life with causes and rallying against injustices that we can’t fix, rather than fill our hearts with the only thing that is real. Love.
Oh God, please take my plank filled eyes off of the things of which I have no control over, and place them in the shadow of the cross…. That I may seek the lost sheep, and point them to truth and the way home. Break my heart for what breaks yours. Amen.
