The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Jeremiah 45-48
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 8: Exile: God Disciplines His People
Background Information: Jeremiah 45-48
Baruch was Jeremiah’s aid and scribe. He wrote and worked alongside Jeremiah for many years. Like Jeremiah, he could also complain about his own personal struggles and pain. Clearly, it’s okay to struggle, but it’s essential to struggle with perspective. God provides just that. Baruch is no machine, robotically obeying God without feeling pain. He is a man of God, but he is just a man. He becomes tired, discouraged, and depressed. Yes, Baruch is pained by all that has and is going to happen, but what about God? Baruch must remember that God is no impersonal being. He is also pained over what he has to do to his own people. Baruch was likely upset that the King had burned so much of his written work, so God responds with, “What about me, I am compelled to destroy my own creation.” There was more going on in Baruch’s heart than struggling with pain; he was also struggling with pride. God gave him a gentle rebuke in telling him to stop pursuing great things for himself. Perhaps Baruch was jealous of his brother, Seraiah, who had attained status in the government (Jeremiah 51:59) while he was employed as a ghost writer for a mostly despised prophet. After this rebuke, God offers Baruch hope: God will protect his life, and Baruch will not die in the coming destruction of Jerusalem. From this intimate account of Jeremiah’s scribe, we are taken on a whirlwind tour of poetic prophecy of destruction coming to the nations that surround Judah. We can feel whiplash jumping from the very small struggles of a single man to the downfall of entire nations. We should find perspective for our own lives in this juxtaposition. We, too, live our lives in small spaces, and for a very short time in human history. At the same time, God is working across all of space and time to bring about his epic purposes. It is good to take our struggles to God, but we should look for more than his sympathy–we should want to gain his perspective. We want to see our struggles from his larger and better view of things. We must also beware that our struggles are not caused by our own selfish pride. We must not live seeking great things for ourselves. We must live for the glory of God and the good of others. When we live for self, our struggles multiply as they turn us away from God. When we live for God’s glory, our struggles are more likely to turn our hearts back to God and to his perfect peace.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for Christian Challenge as they kick-off their semester tonight. Ask God for good weather as they meet outdoors. Pray that new students would connect to the community and those that don’t know Christ would turn to him.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.