If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan? Jeremiah 12: 5, NKJV.
Merciful God, please speak to our hearts and reveal to us things to come, that we may “apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90: 12b). In the name of Your Son Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
We make statements such as, “There is no god like our God” and, “We have a personal God.” But how many of us believe what we say? Do we really appreciate the characteristics of God, that makes Him stand apart from other “gods?” Do we really believe that these are the very things that makes Him God, and that there is no other?
Take a look at the first part of chapter 12 of Jeremiah. You will realize that our Scripture for today constitutes God’s answer to Jeremiah’s very uninhibited prayer. Jeremiah begins by acknowledging God’s righteousness. At first glance I am not sure what Jeremiah considers God’s righteousness. He begins his prayer by saying: You do not inhibit me God. You allow me to speak to You freely about Your judgments. You do not condemn me for the way I feel when I do not seem to understand what You are doing; or when I do not agree with the way You manage the world!
The prophet then goes on to complain about the prosperity of the wicked, and how it would appear as if God had actually allowed them to take root, and bear fruit! They were prosperous in evil doing! But God, You know me, You see my heart. I believe what Jeremiah is saying here is: God, You know that I am not like the wicked. And because of this, I have the right to ask You to punish them. God’s ways are not our ways.
God listens patiently to the prophet, and then responds: Jeremiah, if running with those on foot have left you breathless, what is going to happen when you have to keep up with those on horseback? And, if in familiar territory you feel threatened, how are you going to face the challenges in a foreign land? Now it may appear as if God’s answer has nothing to do with Jeremiah’s complaint, but it does. Perhaps if we apply it to our own life experiences we will then begin to see the application. Let me submit the following for your consideration:
I believe that one of the principal reasons we do not understand God’s dealings in our world is because we only see bits and pieces of the great controversy. There is so much more to it – but as Jesus said to His disciples, “[we could not] bear it now” (John 16: 12). “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6: 34, KJV). Therefore, in mercy, he only allows us to see the obvious. I believe that the “behind the scenes” episodes, would be too hard for us to bear.
It is as if God was saying to Jeremiah, if the part of this controversy that you can see has perplexed you so greatly, when the complete picture is revealed, what will you do? If you question My dealings with the nations in the time of peace, when the time of tribulation comes upon the earth how will you be able to bear it?
But the obvious, without an explanation, seems so unfair, and hard to bear! Remember Job? Some of us may believe that if Job only knew what was happening behind the scenes he would have been okay. I have serious doubts about that. According to Sacred Scripture he was never told what really caused his calamity. Nonetheless, whatever God told him was sufficient, because after he saw God for himself, (Job 42: 5b), he realized that God was righteous and he was not (6)! Then and only then, did Job feel okay about what he had endured. He had seen God’s righteousness!
You and I may have gone through, or may be going through, some tough, hard to understand, situations. If, in the midst of it, we can catch a glimpse of God’s righteousness, like Jeremiah and Job, perhaps we too, will be satisfied. Therefore, let us “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” (Matthew 6: 33), that it may be well with us, on that day.