Great Things

Jeremiah 45

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 ‘You said, “Woe is me now! For the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.”’

4 “Thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is, this whole land. 5 And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh,” says the Lord. “But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places, wherever you go.”’

I believe in the midst of all that we go through there are times when we strive to no end; we strive to accomplish something that benefits only us. That maybe we will add something to our repertoire, a feather in our cap a collection on our wall, but at the end of the day we have to ask ourselves, does it glorify God?

It’s our human nature to strive to attain and if we are honest with our self we will say to make our self look good. But the life of a Christian is really all about humility it’s about seeking ways for God to get the glory. As we see in this chapter Baruch was having a pity party, he was feeling at the end of himself, never once thinking that God is allowing what he was going on for a purpose. Because that’s what God does, He’s sovereign. In this chapter God declares He will do what He please, and He still is God, but the provoking thought that is present in which God asks Baruch is…

“Do you seek great things for yourself;” It’s as if He is asking Baruch are you seeking great things for you or for Me? Are you concerned with how you feel or are you praying My will be done? He asks us that today beloved, and at the same time He says if we are doing that, He says do not.

God is sovereign, He is in control, His ways are way better than what we may conjure up. Before we start to ask why all this may be happening; let us rather ask “Lord help me see that you are doing something that is for your glory”.

That song “God of this city” is always worth listening to and I love the chorus which helps us to put in perspective that He is who He says He is.

For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this City

There is no one like our God

-Amen