Jeremiah and Impending Doom?
From Jeremiah, chapters 29-32, we learn that God’s people had been scattered; with many of them living in legitimate captivity. Circumstances were definitely life and death serious. The times were so desperately perilous that for most – including even that great and humble servant of God, Jeremiah – there was some doubt as to whether or not they would ever see any sort of a return to normalcy again. From within those three chapters we see that Jeremiah’s hometown had already fallen and was under enemy occupation. The advancing Babylonian army was now building siege ramps against the very walls of Jerusalem itself! Certainly, looking around at the seemingly unstoppable forces that were encircling and threatening to exterminate them, it appeared that all hope for any sort of a return to normalcy – let alone prosperity – as they had once known it, was surely lost.
Trouble comes and goes… how will you ride the storm?
It is in the midst of those most dire of circumstances that God commands Jeremiah to buy a piece of property – in his very own, now enemy-held hometown no less (32:6-15, 25)! Jeremiah, being the faithful and obedient servant of God that he is, goes ahead and obeys God’s command to the letter (despite the fact that there is absolutely no physical evidence whatsoever to support that he will ever see or walk on his newly purchased piece of property). However, immediately after making the purchase, he goes to God in prayer to explain his own incredulity at being told to do so (vss. 16ff). While he, through the eyes of his faith, acknowledges God’s power to deliver, he still cannot seem to reconcile that with what his physical eyes now see (vss. 17-25). It is at that point that “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Behold, I am the Lord God, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?’” (vs. 26). God then goes on to explain that despite their terrifying life and death trials of the moment, that He would personally bring His people back to once again dwell in safety, security, peace and prosperity in this place (vss. 36-44) – a promise which further reading proves He kept, just as He had said He would in Jeremiah 29:11-14; for truly, there is nothing too hard for Him.
The fact is that when in the midst of such trying times and circumstances as they were then or as we are now, it can, at times, be incredibly difficult to believe, based upon what we see and hear happening all around us, that it will one day end and that we will return to some sort or semblance of peace, safety, security, and normalcy. It surely must have seemed that same way to some of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, as they endured the darkest days of World Wars I & II; The Great Depression; and/or other world-wide catastrophes… but they did… and so shall we. It is Christ’s kingdom – the Lord’s church that we are so incredibly blessed to be a part of – that we are promised in the Scriptures will never end (Dan. 2:44; Matt. 16:18-19). As it outlasted the Roman Empire that it was born in, so too shall it outlast the COVID19 that we are quarantined in.
So we see that the question is not whether or not this current crisis will end, but instead, who will come through and out the other end of this fiery trial in the best and most incredibly unscathed shape possible (See Dan. 3:13-27; 1 Ptr 1:3-13). And the answer to that question is all too easy: It will be those who, because of their full and faithful confidence in God, never lose heart, walking through it by faith, and not by sight (2 Cor. 4:16-5:7); those who made it their aim, no matter where they were or what they were enduring, to please the Lord no matter what (vs. 9), just as it has always been (1 Ptr. 5:6-10). Let that, be you, both now and forevermore! God bless!