Many Kings Fall
Jeremiah 1-17
Reflection: Inside Out
What “Enemies of the Soul” (busyness etc) cause you to
sometimes forget to take time with God ?
How much time do you spend daily in prayer and Bible Study,
preparing your heart for today?
What are some practical ways you can become more balanced in
your life?
“Help me God to slow down, to be silent, to do Your will, not mine.”
-Marian Wright Edelman
I had heard parts of the book Jeremiah, but had never sat down and
read the book through. Well I read the first chapters this morning and it was an eye opener. I
woke up at 4am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I watched some of the Australian
open and began to think about all of the things I could do if I just got out of
bed. I do this sometimes but I usually try to clear my mind to go back to
sleep. Well, today I did something different. I just got up. I hadn’t planned
it, but here I was at 4:47 out of bed. I knew that I couldn’t do all of the
things that needed done before getting ready for work but I thought surely I
can spend some time in my bible and perhaps
that will prepare me for the rest of the things that I have to do. Well, this
passage of Jeremiah was just what I needed. Here I am with my busy self,
running from here to there taking care of everyone’s needs that some days I don’t
even take the time to read my bible. Have I really gotten that busy? The book
of Jeremiah starts as a scolding. The honeymoon is over. I had to do some soul
searching on this one. Why do we, I, sometimes turn away from God? He has given
us everything. And not only do we turn away; we justify. We come up with all of
the excuses of why we can’t come back. Yes, I’m going to say it: The church is greedy,
the pastor is shady, people are too bougie, they so ghetto, They want me to do
what? With basketball, soccer, PTO, family, blah blah blah… I just don’t have
the time. We will stay at a job we
hate, return time and time again to a fruitless relationship that we should
have left a long time ago, forgive our trifling family, bail our kids out of
trouble for the umpteenth time, but we don’t have time for GOD? The one who put
everything on pause to 1. Create us, 2. Save us, 3. Give his only begotten son
so that we may have eternal life? I could go on but you get it. He has done
everything and given everything. And what do we do in return? Defile his land,
break his laws, and worship false idols, cheat, steal, and lie, adulter. We
have given up our birthright on one end and our inheritance on the other. We
just need to stop it. But you know what? In the end God is Patient, Righteous
and Faithful. I take this passage of Jeremiah as a warning. The God who has
given us everything can surely take it away. But, even in our selfishness, he
remains faithful. And so should we.
Related Readings
Psalms 5: 1-3
Proverbs 31:30
Romans 12:1-2
Ephesians 4:21-24
1 Peter 3:3-6
No comments:
Post a Comment