"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?" Verses 3-4
It's review day again. Last six days, etc., etc.
Day 148--I Will Answer You--Jeremiah 33:2-3
The promise of God, in this passage, is, "Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own." I know this to be true. I have experienced it. I need to experience it again. And this is an easy promise. What I mean by that is that it is fairly easy to call to God. So why don't I do it more? Good question, innit?
Day 149--Bad Things Happen To Very Good People--Jeremiah 38:1-6
This is where Jeremiah gets tossed in a well by the people who are, in essence, afraid of him. They don't ever admit that, but it really is the basic problem. They don't like him, they are jealous because God speaks the truth through him, and that truth threatens their little comfort zones. So...they throw him in a well. Then God rescues him. Yes, bad things happen to good people, and sometimes for seemingly no reason at all. Sometimes, as in the case of Joseph (described in the original entry), it is years before the reason for the "bad" things becomes evident. So keep the faith, no matter what is happening in your life.
Day 150--God's Deep Commitment--Jeremiah 51:1-5
God is deeply committed to his children. In this passage, he sends "Hurricane Persia" to rescue Israel from their exile in Babylon. Even though he had arranged for the exile. But it was time for it to be over, so here comes Persia. God is so committed to his children that he will use whatever resources are at his command...which is all of them. That's pretty comforting, right there.
Day 151--When Disappointment Comes--Lamentations 3:19-30
We are now into one of the most depressing books in the whole Bible. But even through all the wailing, Jeremiah acknowledges that the mercies of God never run out. One of our great hymns is based from this passage..."Great is thy faithfulness, morning by morning, new mercies I see." And our prophet offers some quite excellent advice..."When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run away from trouble. Take it full-face. The 'worst' is never the worst." Enter the silence. I love that. Now if I could only find some "silence..."
Day 152--In the Pit--Lamentations 3:52-52
The devotional writer opines that these words might have been written while Jeremiah was stuck in the mud at the bottom of the well. There is a nice transition as the prophet moves from the despair of his situation to the hope of God and the message that "It's going to be alright." I keep hearing that message lately, and I'm embracing it.
Day 153--Remeber, God, All We've Been Through--Lamentations 5:1-12,17
I recall having a little struggle with this passage, because I really didn't feel any pity for Israel. This seemed to me to be a sanctimonious whine session. A pity party. But God looks at the heart. And that's why he's God and we aren't. He knows the heart and knows, therefore, the proper response. And we should always strive to know him and through him, know the proper response towards other people. We don't know their hearts. We can't possibly. So we must rely on our faith and our knowledge of God.
Grace and peace, friends.