You know, we frequently fall back on this verse in times of
difficulty and trouble. I have done so
many times but I think I need to ask myself two questions the next time I
recite this to myself. I need to ask
first what I have done to get myself into this mess. They are in exile because of something they
have done, they have been apostate. I
need to be introspective about my own life and ask what have I done wrong. The second things I need to remember is that
the people to whom Jeremiah is writing will never see the fulfillment of the
promises he makes. They will be in
Babylon for seventy years. Not many of
those who can read will survive seventy years in exile and return to
Jerusalem. It is a beautiful vision but
the fulfillment awaits the next generation not the exiles themselves. How would I feel about these promises if I
knew that they were not for me but for my children and the children of those I
care for?
Jesus sends out the disciples with only the message and the
commandment to do works of power. He
expects them to be bold and willing to step into any situation similar to ones
in which they have seen Him act. He asks
much of them, leaving behind all sense of security, anything they might rely on
as they journey, not making advance preparations to secure habitation or
food. They are to go in the power of the
Holy Spirit and do things they have never done before in complete trust that
God will provide all they need to do the work they have been given to do. He prepares them for both success and
rejection. They are to go expectantly
that healings, signs, wonders, and miracles will occur. They are also to expect opposition and
rejection and when they leave such places they are to warn them by word and
deed what they done. When they return,
everyone celebrates the success of the mission but Jesus cautions them not to
get caught up in these things, but to rejoice always in their own salvation. They and we are always standing in the need of
grace, no matter what incredible things God may accomplish through us.
I wonder what it looked like to be prevented by the Holy
Spirit from going two particular places Paul intended to go. I know that there have been times in my life
when I desperately wanted something in particular and then God made it
impossible for me to follow through with my plans or denied me the thing I
wanted but I have a feeling something more happened here than that. Finally, Paul gets a vision of a man from
Macedonia beckoning him to come there and help but when he arrives there he
finds no men. To have a synagogue there
would require ten Jewish men and so he presumes that there must be some Jewish
women gathering at the river to wash clothes and other chores who would be there
praying together. The first convert Paul
sees there is, likewise, not a man but Lydia.
Men will have to wait their turn for help, beginning with a jailer. The promises of God are often not quite what
we expect. We also never know what the
purpose of a journey or a sojourn may be.
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