Is it appropriate for us to believe, because of Jeremiah’s words, that God will not abandon us and that He has plans of a hopeful future for us? The answer I come up with is “no”, its not appropriate, because of Jeremiah’s words, and I would like to explain…..

God’s Word;

“As soon as Babylon’s seventy years are up and not a day before, I’ll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“I’ll bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.

Is it appropriate for us to believe, because of Jeremiah’s words that God will not abandon us and that He has plans of a hopeful future for us? Is it right for me tho think of these words as God’s promises to me? If I seriously go looking for God more than any thing else, is it appropriate for me to think that then I will find Him? Is my good fortune and quality of relationship with God dependent on the intensity of my search? While this seems to be what Jeremiah is saying, it is helpful to remember that these are God’s words spoken to Israel, a nation under a different covenant, with a specific calling and in trouble for its own specific set of reasons. So, the answer I come up with is “no”, its not appropriate. We are not Israel and we have not been sent into exile.

My question is why would we claim their old testament promises when the ones we have in our new covenant are far superior. This passage implies that we are estranged from God when in fact we have been reconciled to Him in-Christ and have access into the holiest place in-Christ. Far from being abandoned because of an insufficient effort of seeking God, we are instead seated with Christ in heavenly realms because of His efforts in seeking us out. While Jeremiah’s words imply distance between God and His people, those who have believed and repented have been grafted inseparably into Christ. No separation! This is the good new!

These old testament promises, contingent on man’s stony-hearted performance (yesterday’s post) are inferior to the new testament’s promises of Life which are given as gifts independent of our efforts no matter how whole-hearted they may be. Sadly, our hearts seem to have this default-religious setting that wrongly depends on ourselves for outcomes. The consequence is truly catastrophic. It leads us to pray prayers and sing songs pleading in desperation with God to draw near to us or to help us draw near to Him while, in that very moment He is dwelling within us. This makes no sense. The right kind of passion is wonderful but the question I think God has is, “What gave you the idea that we have become separated?” We spend massive amounts of energy and resources trying to purchase what they already own. It is no wonder at all why we burn out.

Here is an an account of one of those times that God tapped me on my religious shoulder . (Well…it wasn’t actually my shoulder that got tapped)

 It was several years ago now, in one of my Jeremiah (weeping-prophet) moments, I had walked over to a dark and lonely place near my home to express the depths of my longings to Him. (and perhaps a few modest complaints) I was ratcheting up my seriousness, asking, as my reward if He would become more intimately involved in my life and restore the joy of my salvation, “Lord. please do not take Thy Holy Spirit from me! I was begging him to reveal Himself. Taking my cues from Jeremiah, I believed my impassioned prayers would assuredly be the key to amending my (somewhat undeserved) exile.  I probably even prayed, “God, rain down on me.” (and the Lord smiled)

As I was praying, I heard something below and I felt the earth literally tremble a little beneath my feet. My prayers had reached such a crescendo it would not have surprised me if a burning bush would have appeared! As I was listening intently for the long awaited (and I might add, deserved) word from God, I was assailed, not by the rain of His Spirit from above but by the RainBird device below. I was lifted off the ground by a jet of water that had to be 1000 psi. I was standing directly over (as in straddling) a sprinkler head on the golf course.  I was so shocked and disoriented I did not escape its aim before I was drenched. It was as though its machine gun bursts were trained on me whichever way I moved. The heat of my passion was extinguished in some small fraction of a second. And, to make matters worse, I knew Who it was who had such excellent timing and aim! I think the Perpetrator enjoyed this immensely. For me? It took me a while before I could say, “Thank you Father”.

I should have picked up on what God was doing sooner because of an incident that took place in our home 20 years earlier. One evening, when our second daughter was just a baby, she was provoked and had worked herself into an irreversible emotional tailspin. She could not talk but man could she wail! In our desperation, we set her down into a bathtub full of unheated tap water. The effect was magical! Whatever had been her problem had given way to a new and more immediate issue. The child we retrieved from the tub was the quieter version of the daughter we enjoyed and preferred. We dried off her wrinkly pink skin and wiped away all her tears. Thankfully, all was once again well with her soul and she was off to her next adventure. I think the word of the Lord to both my daughter and myself after our unorthodox baptisms was (and remains)…….

                                               “Dear Ones.  You really need to chill out.“

It is so pivotal to always know that, in-Christ, we have not been exiled. We can’t even really leave home and, we are always taken care of.  I believe the Lord is saying to many of His super-busy, super-zealous and frustrated children, “Its in quietness and rest you will find Me. By all means seek Me with all your heart but do it with the new one that I have given you that intuitively knows that I have never left you and never will; not the one that thinks everything depends on it. I just want you to learn to be content with Me. In every sense I am your sufficiency.  Ignore your emotions. They can be misleading. Our lives are permanently entwined. Just celebrate that. Repent of your strife. The desired emotions will follow your renewed thinking. Just chill out a little. It is going to be alright. I promise.

Father, It is a good thing to give thanks to You and sing praises to Your name. As I take account of the exceedingly great promises You have entrusted us, I am stunned at the wisdom and generosity of Your plans and the far extents of Your love! Truly Lord You are The Wonder of all wonders! I love You too.