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Woe Is Me!
The Lord has a special message just for Baruch (Jeremiah 45). And no wonder, considering the circumstances.
First, the historical reference to the fourth year of Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 45:1 puts chapter 45 after chapter 36. Jeremiah is most probably in prison, and the prospect of a revival among the leaders of Judah no longer seems probable. Second, Baruch’s future, at least from an earthly perspective, seems bleak at best. Thus, as Jeremiah 45:3 states, Baruch is having what might be called “a bad day.” Of course, feeling dejected, sad, or depressed is a natural part of our human existence on our fallen earth. There are many reasons for feeling this way, and one should never think that it’s wrong or sinful to have these feelings. Depending upon the circumstances, it almost would seem inhuman not to have them. Certainly plenty of biblical characters had their moments of despair (see 1 Kings 19:4; Job 6:2, 3; Ps. 55:4). We fool ourselves if we think that, somehow, we are going to escape them ourselves.
Read Isaiah 53:1–5. What kind of mood and feelings are depicted here, and who is one who is suffering these feelings? What should that tell us?
What’s most important for us to remember during times of emotional distress and sadness is that this doesn’t mean God has forsaken us. It means only that, as with all fallen humanity, we will suffer in this life. Whether the suffering is our own fault or not doesn’t, in one sense, matter. What matters is that we, amid our suffering, do not let the evil one use our grief to turn us away from the Lord or make us bitter and resentful against Him. What matters is that we claim God’s promises of forgiveness, of healing, of a better future and a new life in a new heaven and a new earth.
We all long for things to go well; we all long for a better existence, here and now. But often, given the nature of our world, that doesn’t happen or at least it doesn’t happen as we imagine we would like it to. Hence, how important that, amid whatever we are going through, we don’t forget the great hope that awaits us once the horrible experience of sin, suffering, and death is forever over.
What are some of your favorite Bible promises about the new heaven and new earth? Read through them, pray over them, and ask the Lord for the faith to hang on until the time when you, yourself, will be living in them.
| WEDNESDAY | December 22 |
The Lord has a special message just for Baruch (Jeremiah 45). And no wonder, considering the circumstances.
First, the historical reference to the fourth year of Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 45:1 puts chapter 45 after chapter 36. Jeremiah is most probably in prison, and the prospect of a revival among the leaders of Judah no longer seems probable. Second, Baruch’s future, at least from an earthly perspective, seems bleak at best. Thus, as Jeremiah 45:3 states, Baruch is having what might be called “a bad day.” Of course, feeling dejected, sad, or depressed is a natural part of our human existence on our fallen earth. There are many reasons for feeling this way, and one should never think that it’s wrong or sinful to have these feelings. Depending upon the circumstances, it almost would seem inhuman not to have them. Certainly plenty of biblical characters had their moments of despair (see 1 Kings 19:4; Job 6:2, 3; Ps. 55:4). We fool ourselves if we think that, somehow, we are going to escape them ourselves.
Read Isaiah 53:1–5. What kind of mood and feelings are depicted here, and who is one who is suffering these feelings? What should that tell us?
What’s most important for us to remember during times of emotional distress and sadness is that this doesn’t mean God has forsaken us. It means only that, as with all fallen humanity, we will suffer in this life. Whether the suffering is our own fault or not doesn’t, in one sense, matter. What matters is that we, amid our suffering, do not let the evil one use our grief to turn us away from the Lord or make us bitter and resentful against Him. What matters is that we claim God’s promises of forgiveness, of healing, of a better future and a new life in a new heaven and a new earth.
We all long for things to go well; we all long for a better existence, here and now. But often, given the nature of our world, that doesn’t happen or at least it doesn’t happen as we imagine we would like it to. Hence, how important that, amid whatever we are going through, we don’t forget the great hope that awaits us once the horrible experience of sin, suffering, and death is forever over.
What are some of your favorite Bible promises about the new heaven and new earth? Read through them, pray over them, and ask the Lord for the faith to hang on until the time when you, yourself, will be living in them.
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