Jeremiah 12:1-6: Take it to the Lord in prayer (please click here for todays passage)

This is an age old question, often repeated in the Bible (see for example Job 21:4-21; Habakkuk 1:1-4).

If something troubles you, take it to the Lord in prayer. But when He answers it may not always be what you want to hear. When we begin to seriously pray about an issue it frequently seems to get worse before it gets better. In response to his prayer, Jeremiah was specifically told that the situation would deteriorate in the short to mid-term.

‘’Jeremiah knew that God’s justice would ultimately come, but he was impatient because he wanted justice to come quickly. God didn’t give a doctrinal answer, instead he gave a challenge. If Jeremiah couldn’t handle this, how would he handle the injustices ahead? It is natural for us to demand fair play and cry for justice against those who take advantage of others. But when we call for justice, we must realise that we ourselves would be in big trouble if God gave each of us what we truly deserve…Life was extremely difficult for Jeremiah despite his love and obedience to God. 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?’ Not all of God’s answers to prayer are nice or easy to handle. Any Christian who has experienced war, bereavement, or a serious illness knows this. But we are to be committed to God even when the going gets tough and when his answers to our prayers don’t bring immediate relief.’’ ‘The Life Application Bible’, pp.1304, 1305.

The life of Christian discipleship is not an inoculation against trouble. Anyone who thinks it is will be likely to become seriously disillusioned somewhere along the way. Jeremiah says to us that the more faithful we are the more trouble we will face. But we are never alone; we can always pray.

Just one other thought for today. It is terribly possible for us to become like the people described in (2b; see also Isaiah 29:13; Jeremiah 3:10; Matthew 15:8, 9; Titus 1:16). True religion is a matter of the heart. Above all else we must guard our hearts for out of them flow all the issues of life.

Prayer: God be in my heart and in my loving.