Jeremiah 52:2-3 - He
did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. It was because of the LORD's anger that all
this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust
them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled
against the king of Babylon.
The last words we have of Jeremiah summarize the fall of Jerusalem.
He recounts much of what is recorded in 2 Kings 24 and 25…..and also his own
chapter of Jeremiah 39. He makes sure to tell us that God was so very angry
about the way his people chose to live that he intervened and destroyed the
town they lived in. He had them spend a long time reflecting on their actions in
captivity. Some eventually got it…and
returned to God to worship him alone…but others died refusing to see the error
of their ways.
God was finally through with Jeremiah. He gave his entire life speaking the
correcting words of God to a people with mostly deaf ears. They were harsh
words…and no one loved him for them except God…but he gave his entire life to
deliver them. They did not earn him any
fame…but he delivered them anyway.
We are not told what happened to this dedicated prophet in
the end. The last words we read placed him living with the poorest exiles that
had been left to keep the land. My heart wants to believe that this remnant of
God’s people may have been poor in material wealth…but rich in love for God. I
picture this small group of believers rallying around this man of God and
caring for him….and continuing to use his knowing heart to help them through
this hard time in their lives.
I know that I need more of Jeremiah’s faith and endurance…for
I fail miserably at some of the tasks God gives me to do. I am so oblivious to
his voice sometimes that I don’t even hear him tell me what to do. I know that
I need to do better…but let life beat me down….tiredness seep in and take over…and
it seems easier just to give in and let life control my next steps.
Guess that is the human in all of us…especially in me right
now. Several people have even quoted Matthew 26:41 to me this week. It says…. “Watch and pray, that you enter not
into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” If I had
been listening to the still small voice of God from the start…I would have gotten
his hints sooner. My prayer life has
always been one of my weakest areas.
Even the smallest of prayers takes the focus off of
ourselves and places it back on God where it belongs. The more we pray…the more
time we spend in God’s presence….the more time we spend listening for how to keep
going in whatever hard task he has given us to do. The more time we spend with
God…the more time he has to build us up and strengthen us. We can’t lose if we
are spending time with God.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to stay connected
with you at all times with prayer. Forgive me for all the time I have let life
distract me from spending time with you.
Help me to develop a life that focuses on you in deeper prayers for
strength. Retune my ears to your still small voice….and set an alarm in my heart
to pray for what I need from you. Amen.
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