Observation: God pronounces judgment on his nation of Judah through Jeremiah's words. Because they have disobeyed God's words, God will send an invader to take over the land: Nebuchadnezzar, a Babylonian King, whom God calls "my servant," even though he does not believe in or follow Judah's God. Strange that God would call a ruthless king, a member of a different faith, "servant."
Application: It grates on me when people say, "It's all part of God's plan." I don't believe that. I don't believe God gives cancer to kids, or starts bloody civil wars, or sends famine on countries, as part of some grand chess game. God is as hurt as any of us is by the awful fallout of our decisions and of life in a fallen world, where we can not live in harmony with nature. To say it's "part of God's plan" as though there was no other way, as though starving children may ultimately be a good thing if we just were able to take the long view, is an insult to God and to human intelligence.
But I do hold as a core belief that God can take our mess and turn it into healing. God can take even the actions of a cruel, repressive bully like Nebuchadnezzar and use them to teach faithfulness to the Judahites. God can use even the unspeakable cruelty of a Roman cross to bring new life.
God does not wish us pain, much less actively cause it as part of some grand scheme. But God can and does take our pain and transform it in ways we could not have imagined.
Prayer: God, for those who are suffering today, dwell with them and help me to be present for them too. Only you can turn our pain into healing. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment