Return to Me

Jeremiah complained to the Lord God in Jeremiah 15:15-18: “O Lord, you know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance take me not away; know that for your sake I bear reproach.  Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. I did not sit in the company of revellers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail?”

We immediately have sympathy with Jeremiah, don’t we? He seemed to have done everything right. Don’t you often feel the same? You do the best you can. You read your Bible, go to church and live a life that cannot be faulted. Yet the Lord feels so distant. You don’t seem blessed; you get a lot of flak from life and don’t feel the prosperity you’re supposed to have. ‘What is wrong,’ you ask just as Jeremiah asked. Let us see what the Lord answered Jeremiah.

“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.  And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord. I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless,’ (Jeremiah 15:19-21).”

From Jeremiah’s words above he seemed to have been in a good relationship with the Lord. Yet the Lord found it necessary to urge Jeremiah to return to Him, or repent as other translations put it. The Lord wanted him not to waste time on being self-focused, but to make every word he spoke count for His sake. In other words Jeremiah seemed to have used the available time to mull over his own feelings, and therefore ‘uttered what is worthless’, instead of encouraging and reinforcing others by ‘uttering what is precious’.

The Lord is always there for you. He reminded Jeremiah a little further on that He made him to be a fortified wall of bronze. In other words, Jeremiah was safe in the Lord’s hands regardless of how he felt. He therefore had no excuse not to focus solely on God’s interests. Satan loves to distract you. If he can get you to waste time by focusing on yourself, your feelings and your problems, he has managed to render you useless to God’s purposes during that time.

The Lord is patient with immature baby Believers, but from mature son Believers He expects results. Sons have learnt to trust Him to care for them. Sons know who their source, their protection and their guide are. They need not spend time to look after themselves (Matthew 6:33).

This is why God had to be firm with Jeremiah.

You will be tempted with distractions and feelings of self pity. You will be ridiculed, ignored and made to feel worthless by those self-centred enemies of God. This is why you have received the fruit of the Spirit called self-control. Life in Christ is not founded on feelings, but on faith. In other words, what you feel like does not determine your actions, but what you know and believe about the Lord from His Word.

You may for example not feel safe or you may feel unsure where your money will come from, but Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:4-6). Therefore you are safe and provided for, based on what you know about Him and not on what you feel or hear. Self-control reprimands your negative feelings and thoughts, and consciously turns your focus onto faith in the Lord. It is something only you can do in collaboration with the Holy Spirit.

Jeremiah was a great prophet of the Lord, yet he was only a man. He did feel worthless at times and was certainly tempted to muse too much about his circumstances. In order to keep him on track and useful to His purposes, the Lord had to deal with those things that distracted Jeremiah from his calling.

You are also great in whatever you are called and gifted for. In Christ you already have everything you need to live the life in Christ (2 Peter 1:3). You simply need to know it from the Bible and apply it. Pleasing the Lord means keeping faith in God’s abilities and act accordingly (Hebrews 11:6). King David trusted in the Lord unwaveringly and, as a result, did everything the way the Lord wanted it done. Through the centuries God has used David as His model by which He judged kings.

How about becoming a person after God’s own heart (like David) and trust Him steadfastly (Proverbs 3:3-8). One day you will find out how He actually boasted about you doing everything the way He wanted it done.

Lord, please show me when my focus is wrong.