God Who Delivers

I am convinced when we open God's word He is always faithful to deliver:  we are the weak links that do not always receive.  When we come to a difficult passage of scripture that is not immediately clear, it is good for us to think it over, perhaps jot down observations and seek the LORD.  I tend to think by speaking, and the practice works well with writing.  This helps me develop my thoughts more clearly as I ruminate on God's word.

This morning I read a prayer of Jeremiah who questioned the LORD why his suffering was protracted and made subtle jabs God had not been altogether faithful to him.  The prophet asked God in Jeremiah 15:18: "Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, as waters that fail?"  Jeremiah likened himself to a person who had wounds that did not respond to any treatment, like a thirsty person who sought the refreshment of a flowing stream and in his time of need found it dry and dusty.  I am sure many can relate to feeling this way when we feel persecuted and surrounded by those who cause trouble--even if we have not suffered like Jeremiah did.

God did not remain silent.  Jeremiah 15:19-21 records God's response:  "Therefore thus says the LORD: "If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me; if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them. ²⁰ And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; and they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and deliver you," says the LORD. ²¹ "I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible."  God did not directly answer the question Jeremiah asked, nor did God rebuke him for speaking from the heart.  Jeremiah asked God about how badly he felt, and God's answer was to promise Jeremiah whom God would make him to be.  It was in the LORD Jeremiah received deliverance, healing and sustaining power--not the absence of pain or suffering.

We, like Jeremiah, can aim far beneath the high plane God would have us live.  We want our suffering to end when God employs suffering to draw us to Himself in faith and constant reliance.  I wonder if some of Jeremiah's suffering was due to his own fleshly expectations the remained unmet, a self-imposed wound caused by worrying about those who sought to destroy him and fear that they would succeed.  His thought-life led to increased frustration and pain over questions only answered by the presence of God Himself who is mighty to deliver and save.  God shrugged off the insinuation (or even accusation!) He had deceived Jeremiah and promised to bring him back, make Jeremiah His mouth, and cause Jeremiah to stand like a fortified bronze wall no one could prevail against.  It reminds me of God's promise to His redeemed compared to one barren and alone in Isaiah 54:11:  "O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires."

There is always comfort for those who place their faith in God, who trust He will fulfill His word in the end concerning us and who He has created us to be.  Oh the grace and goodness of God who delivers, saves and protects us from harm!  What great things God has in store for those who cry out to Him, who look to God in time of need.  It is He who causes us to stand, for Jesus Christ is our inheritance and our righteousness is in Him.