Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.
Jeremiah is often known as ‘the weeping prophet’, for not only did he weep as he witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the Temple of God by the Babylonians, but he had to endure drought, imprisonment, emotional trauma, and he was even forbidden by the Lord to get married. Jeremiah’s entire, prophetic ministry to Israel fell on deaf ears, as he warned them of the severe judgements to come if they did not repent of their apostate ways and return to the Lord their God. Nevertheless, Jeremiah knew the Lord and trusted His Word. Throughout his life, this man of God had to endure the sneers and derision of the people to whom he was sent. False prophets continued to rebuke him, as he faithfully warned of the fast-approaching judgement and destruction of God’s people and their land if they refused to repent of their sin. Despite being ridiculed and rejected, Jeremiah was given some beautiful and encouraging prophecies that God would one day make a New Covenant with His people, Israel, through the Messiah Who was to come. As Church-age believers, we are blessed to have the whole counsel of God in the completed canon of Scriptures, which continues to open our understanding to God’s eternal plans and purposes. Plans for His people, Israel, for the land He promised to Abraham, for the world He created, and for those of us who are His Church-age children. But men of God like Jeremiah, who prophesied of many future events, were often ignorant of the meaning of their predictions. They had to live by true blind faith. Jeremiah declared that God was the almighty, omnipotent Lord of hosts Who shows lovingkindness to generations. Jeremiah acknowledged that the Lord was the great and mighty God: “Great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men.” In his prayer, he reflected on the never-failing goodness of God towards his wayward people. Before his prayer, Jeremiah confessed that nothing is too difficult for the Lord Who made the heavens and earth by His power and might, and God in His grace encouraged His servant by saying, “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” Jeremiah is a wonderful example of a man who maintained a lifelong trust in God, despite facing incredible hardships and held in derision by the people to whom he was sent. He was a prophet of God who spoke the truth, yet throughout his life, his words of warning were ridiculed. He lived among a generation that totally abandoned God’s Law. But, Jeremiah knew that despite the coming time of trouble for Israel, God will one day fulfil His promises to His people. Nothing is too difficult for the Lord. Like Jeremiah, we too live among a generation that calls evil good, and good evil. The Word of the Lord is rejected and ridiculed on all sides, and soon a day is coming when the world in which we live will be catapulted into a time of Great Tribulation, when God’s wrath will be poured out on a world that has rejected the Truth and refused God’s saving grace through faith in Christ. But like Jeremiah, we must remain faithful to our calling during our earthly journey. We are to follow Jeremiah’s example and hold fast to that which is good, looking to Jesus as we stand on the promises of God. Jeremiah was a good and faithful servant in the ministry to which he was called. May we also remain good and faithful servants in the work that God has given us to do. May we delight in the Lord our God, and rejoice that He is the God and Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who made the heavens and the earth by His mighty power and outstretched arm. Let us rejoice that we have been saved by grace through faith in Him and that nothing, absolutely nothing, is too difficult for Him.
Spiritual Steve 