Just Trust

May 7, 2009

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust--there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. Lamentations 3:19-32 (NIV)

Have you ever read the book of Jeremiah and Lamentations? I did – last summer. Jeremiah taught me a lot that summer. Jeremiah taught me to really pay attention to my heart and understand the heart attitude I approached God with.

“Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.' Jeremiah 5:22-24 (NIV)

Jeremiah taught me how to read spiritual maps and take the right path.

“This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.' Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)

Jeremiah taught me about boasting.

This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)

But the lesson that impacted me the most was his endurance lesson.

"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5 (NIV)

If you have ever read Jeremiah, you know life was extremely difficult for Jeremiah despite his love for and obedience to God. You have to ask, “How did he endure?” When he called to God for relief, God’s reply in effect was, “If you think this is bad, how are you going to cope when it gets really tough?” WOW! That is a tough answer. Getting an answer like that makes it easy to quit. Jeremiah didn’t quit – he preserved and endured. Do you ever feel like quitting? Jeremiah didn’t quit because he trusted. He had faith in God. His faith gave him hope. Even when he felt like quitting he still trusted. God honored that. God loved that. How do I know? Because….

This is what the Lord says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the Lord. [6] They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no one lives. "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8 (NLT)

Just trust.

T