In The Midst of Problems

The Word is first...

Jeremiah 45:5 (NIV)

⁵ 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.’ ”

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

During the troubling economic times in which we live, there are many who have lost their jobs, lost their savings, lost their cars, their homes and many other earthly possessions. By conventional wisdom it would seem that we have little to celebrate. Yet of all the things from which we are separated, we are neither separated from life itself nor from the love of God. By godly wisdom we have a great deal to celebrate. Though the stock-market may fall, it is but the loss of an idol. Though our car be repossessed, the fact that it is repossessed is clear indication it was not ours to begin with! Though we be forceably evicted from our home, we continue to be welcomed in God's house.

Truthfully, during such times we have an opportunity to exercise our faith in God and this afterall is the right response he desires. If we step back and look at the situation objectively we can see that our Sovereign God is putting the nation to the test. He is allowing us to suffer the consequences of our idolatry and faithlessness. Yet, he has not forsaken nor abandoned us anymore than we forsake our children when allowing them, in the spirit of discipline, to suffer the consequences of their actions.

But even now, there are those that seek to not only survive the test but to excel. It is a peculiar desire that in the midst of destruction we seek not only to be spared but also to prosper. It is particularly perplexing to hear someone say that "they don't deserve" this suffering or that they somehow are entitled to prosper even as all those around them are confronted with calamity.

It is somehow comforting for me to know that this is not a unique phenomena. Today's study verse is God's response to Baruch who in the midst of destruction thought that he was somehow entitled to something better than everyone else. Based on earthly lineage Baruch expected to be a high-ranking government official but instead had the office of secretary to an unpopular king. Even as the entire nation was being punished by divine judgment, Baruch moaned and groaned about his position and his circumstances. Rather than crying out for relief for his people he cried out about how God's judgment added sorrow to his pain.

Our merciful God responded to him that even as I (God) am overthrowing what I have built and uprooting what I have planted, everywhere... "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."

In this passage we can sense the frustration God must have felt towards the people who turned their backs on him and disobeyed his commandments. Yet even in the midst of such frustration he showed mercy to Baruch in that he allowed him to live. He gently rebuked Baruch for his self-serving aspirations and corrected him by pointing out that which remained even though all else would be removed.

As I watch my life savings dwindle away I have two choices. On the one hand I could bemoan my misfortune and lament the loss of money. Or, on the other hand, I could thank God not only for my life but also for my family and for his continued provision of our needs. I could be bitter about the loss or I can rejoice in the opportunity to exercise my faith as I learn to more fully rely on God.

You too face a similar choice. Will you grieve the death of the idols of wealth, financial security and retirement? Or will you rejoice in the eternal life that God has freely given? God did not free me from sin so that I could be bound by golden chains to financial success. He freed me from sin that I could live. That's the choice I make. That's the challenge we all face. How will you choose?

In His Grip,
Carl