The more I read the Bible, the more
I realize that we can truly trust God. He alone knows the future
and He alone knows what is best for us. I would like to share one
of those 'stories' in the Bible where Jeremiah had to trust God
explicitly.
As I am sure you all know, there
was a time when the Israelites didn't seek the Lord. One prophet
after the other was sent to them to warn them that if they didn't
return to God, they would be driven off their land and exiled into
a foreign one. They didn't listen of course and in the days of
Jeremiah it was dire straits. King Nebuchadnezzar had laid siege to
Jerusalem with his mighty Babylonian army. The time had come for
God to discipline them. Now Jeremiah kept on warning the people
that the city would fall into Babylonian hands and that they
shouldn't even try to fight it, but the King and the people would
hear none of it. In fact they imprisoned Jeremiah for saying that.
Now it was in these terrible circumstances that the Lord told
Jeremiah that he should buy the field of his cousin Hanamel. He
told Jeremiah to buy it publicly as a declaration that despite the
fact that the Babylonians would soon take over Jerusalem and
devastate the land, they would one day return and own property
again in this land, buying and selling land.
Now imagine you were in his shoes.
Let's maybe put it in modern day terms. Imagine you lived in
Zimbabwe where the government takes anyone's private property as
they please. They don't see your property as your own. If they like
it they will definitely take it. Imagine you lived there and God
tells you to buy a farm and not only that, you have to pay a very
good price for it, the last of your savings. Imagine the
uncertainty and the fear you would have. It will be a very
stressful situation, because you will never know when they will
come and take it away.
I mean here Jeremiah was, he
already had nothing, he was imprisoned and now the Lord tells him
to buy a piece of land with the little bit of money he still had
and to top it off he knew that the land will be worthless
as soon as the Babylonians entered Jerusalem. His deed of purchase
would be a useless piece of paper, except for one thing. The Lord
promised him that it will be valuable again one day. It was the
only thing he had to hold on to. A promise from God. And what he
did really amazed me, without arguing, without any sour attitude,
he simply went ahead and did what the Lord told him. He bought the
land and even took the deed of purchase and put it into a pottery
jar to preserve it for a long time until the promise was fulfilled.
Amazing.
I think if it happened to me I
would argue first and tell the Lord that it definitely did not make
any sense to buy the land. I think I would seriously consider
bargaining with the Lord and try to get out of the deal. Or at best
pay a way below market price for the land if I really have to. But
not Jeremiah, no, he obeyed and acted without any hesitation.
We need to be like Jeremiah, we
need to trust God completely. I know it isn't easy to believe that
the 'impossible' promises that God made to you will ever come to
pass, but nothing in life worth waiting for is easy. Nothing
worthwhile just falls on your lap. It requires obedience to God's
Voice. Sometimes you need to wait a long time for the promises to
be fulfilled and sometimes you need to be obedient when He speaks
to you. But know this, you can trust in Him. Everything will work
out for the good of those who love and trust in Him. May God bless
you abundantly as you walk in His ways and follow His Voice.
Father God, please help us to obey
You. It isn't always easy, and it requires faith from our side, but
please help us to follow Your Voice and not our own. You know best
and we are thankful for it. In Jesus' Name. Amen