When the Situation Requires Complete Trust

Good Morning.  Sometimes God put us into situations we don’t understand as I will talk about further in this post.  At other times, we put ourselves in situations that we have no business being in.  When this happens, we know we have to bear the consequences and give ourselves grace to endure.  One thing about the situation whether it is God lead or self-lead, you will learn from it. 

I was reading Jeremiah 29. Leading up to verse 11, the people of Jerusalem had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.  In Jeremiah’s letter to the people he says starting at verse 4 (NLT), “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: ⁵ “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. ⁶ Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! ⁷ And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

It is amazing how you can hear a verse, recite the verse, and believe the verse without reading the passage of scripture in context.  We all are familiar with Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT), “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  I did not know what happened to God’s people to warrant this verse. 

If I was them, my response would have been, “Here we go.  God is asking me to do something crazy again.  He wants me to accept what they are doing to me, put down roots basically, and then pray for those who are putting us in exile?”  Whew Chile!  It brings back to my remembrance Matthew 5:44-48 (NLT), “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

This was one of those situations where even though the people didn’t understand, God needed them to trust him.  That’s why Jeremiah wrote verse 11.  God will never put us in a situation that will put more on us than we can bear.  The situation is meant to help us grow in an area(s) that is needed.  You probably have been in situations before where you did not get the purpose or lesson until the end.  The situation caused you to grow which is always good.  Sometimes God will do things that will cause us to go against our flesh.  He knows we can’t do it without him.  Ask him to help you.  Have a Blessed Day!