Good Afternoon!
Have you ever anticipated something happening and then it did not happen? Have you ever been shocked by something unexpected happening?
Linda and I got our second COVID shot last week. I kept telling Linda that all is okay. Millions of people are getting it without a hitch. Then...the night before...I read a news article where a 39-year-old lady got her second Moderna shot, became ill, and was dead within four days. We were getting our second Moderna shot within hours and that was the article that came up on my news app? When I sat down to receive the shot I told the guy administering the shot about the lady who died. With a quick response and a snarky tone in his voice, he asked me..."What if she had drunk a Mountain Dew one hour before her shot? What if the Mountain Dew was the cause of her death? What if she had eaten breakfast a few hours before her shot? What if something she ate caused her death? How do you know it was the shot that caused her death?" I told him that he had thought about this topic much more than me...just give me the shot! (I cannot take smart alecks!)
Regardless, we are still alive and well. The only reaction I have had thus far is when my grandson slugged me in the arm...at the place of my shot...the next day!
An event in my life was coming, but, the anticipated death did not happen.
Then, yesterday on the way home from church while driving on Interstate 70 something popped under my car and a noise began sounding. I pulled to the side and we looked for a tire that may have blown, but, we found nothing. It was a shock. We continued on the interstate and the noise continued. It sounded like something dragging. I even looked under my car and found nothing. With emergency flashers on, we limped the car back home and into the garage. I found the culprit and am now needing a repair job on my car.
An event in my life that was sudden...POP! It was an event that I did not expect but it was something that needs attention before the car can be driven again.
I am guessing that you have had similar experiences in your life. You knew something was going to happen but you did not know what the outcome would look like. Jeremiah must have had several of those experiences. Regardless of how detailed God was in telling Jeremiah about the coming events in his life...it would have been impossible for him to fully expect the results.
His nation was coming down around him. Years before, he experienced the revival of his nation under a godly leader named Josiah. King Josiah wanted the people of Israel to worship and honor God correctly. He had the worship of other gods banned from the land. King Josiah had the discovered laws of God read before the entire nation and demanded that everyone honor God by following His mandates.
Then, Josiah died. The next four kings were not the godly men he was. They were his sons and grandson. It ended with Zedekiah who allowed the worship of other gods, raised taxes on the people, caused hardship on the nation, and allowed the enemies to cross the borders of their nation and experience the rights of the true citizens.
Jeremiah knew this would happen, but, he did not realize how devastating it would become until it actually took place. I'm sure there were times when Jeremiah thought the worst. At times he thought that this would be the end, but, God would give a second chance for the people to repent. Eventually when the people accepted their own way above God's way...God had enough of their sin and allowed the enemy to take over and destroy their nation. God had warned them. He used Jeremiah to sound the alarm and give them the opportunity to repent and return to God. But...they chose their own way. They ignored God and His prophet.
I am also sure that there were times in Jeremiah's life that he thought all is going okay when suddenly something...POPS! He shares a message that God had given him to share when suddenly the king throws him out of Jerusalem...his beloved city. Or, he is preaching and some people muster up the courage to grab him and throw him into a dark, wet, nasty well with no way to escape! That was a shock!
Oh yes...it happens. We will anticipate something and realize that it wasn't as bad as we had thought. Or...suddenly something happens and we were totally caught by surprise. It happens.
The cool thing about Jeremiah is that he never doubted God. He knew God was in charge and trusted Him for every outcome. Sometimes Jeremiah griped and complained because he didn't want to go through such terror, (chapter 20) but, he remained faithful to God.
Some people who were considered godly, church-going people did NOT remain faithful. The fact is that MOST did not remain faithful. That was another disappointment for Jeremiah. That is a disappointment to me today. There are too many in the church with faces that look like they honor God when they have hearts that are torn by sin and they and live a snarky life that is dishonoring to God!
I'm always disappointed when I see a believer wearing the clothing of a believer with a heart of an unbeliever. Paul told the people at Colossae that "If you are risen with Christ...put to death the things of the world that are in your life!" Col. 3:1 and 5.
Okay...I have just revealed to you some truth about life. Unexpected stuff is going to happen. POP...it happens. It's going to happen to you...to your family...to your friends...to people you thought were God's people but act like Satan's people. It's going to happen. Simply walk with God through it. HE will carry you.
Remember the lyrics of this song:
"Got any rivers you think are uncrossable...
Got any mountains you can't tunnel through;
God specializes in things thought impossible...
He does the things others cannot do!"
May God Bless You!
Don Betts
DBEA/campus320
DBEAWINNING.COM
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!