Jeremiah 45:3-5 -You said,
'Woe to me! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.' " The LORD said, "Say
this to him: 'This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built
and uproot what I have planted, throughout the
land. Should you then
seek great things for yourself ? Seek them not.
For I will bring disaster on all people, declares
the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your
life.' "
It is one of Jeremiah’s shortest chapters…it contains a
direct message for his faithful scribe Baruch.
He had followed Jerimiah everywhere…writing down on scrolls the important
messages God had given Jeremiah for the people. Baruch’s life had been very
hard…and he was tired. He reached that point where his frustration wanted an
out…he thought he could take no more.
God’s answer came through his friend Jeremiah quickly. He told him to just hold on…not to think
about the pain and sorrow of the present…to take his focus off of himself.
Jeremiah told him to just continue to serve God by being his scribe and God
would take care of him for the rest of his life…wherever he went.
I have been a Baruch many times…for when life beats me down I
have a tendency to want to run away too. It just seems too much to bear…and I let
the pain and hardness of the moment turn my focus to myself. I pray exactly
like Baruch did…and cry out to God with tears and frustration that I have had
enough.
It is a reminder to me to stop letting my pain and
frustration cause me to take my focus off of God…and convince myself to run or
give up again. What I need to do is read these words to Baruch over and over
and let them help me focus back on God again. For once I have my eyes back on
God…and stop crying my pain is too great…he sends me a peace that helps me deal
with my problem. The pain doesn’t always stop….but his peace helps me keep from
worrying about it anymore.
If we focus on ourselves…and what we might be missing during
our storms….the result is frustration and confusion. But if we keep our focus
on God… we find the strength and peace to continue in our pain and finish the
task he placed us there to do in the first place. I am so glad that our perfect
model Jesus…in his most painful moment…showed me that it is okay to call out to
God in our pain…but when we hand the reins over to our father in heaven…and
concede that his will is the better plan…the tears of pain and frustration that
for Jesus were even magnified to bloody sweat… become the strength to carry the
cross to the spot where we die to ourselves…and fulfill the plan that God
placed us here to do. When we understand fully that we are servants…and stop
seeking great things for ourselves…we begin to internalize the strength and
wisdom and discernment we need to complete God’s will in our life.
Father…thank you for the reminder that it’s not about me…but
about what you need me to do while I have been granted life on your Earth.
Forgive me for focusing too many times on myself…and letting my pan and
confusion stop me from finishing the job you needed me to do. Forgive me for
modeling to so many people how to run from my pain instead of how to let you
give me peace and strength to work through it.
Help me to internalize a need to stay completely focused on you…so I can
do a better job seeking your peace when things get hard the next time. Amen.
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