Ever doubted God and His promises? Of course you have! The prophet Jeremiah was no exception. When God told him through a prophetic act that life would return to normal in Jerusalem, it would seem he doubted. This promise comes against the backdrop of Jerusalem under siege and about to fall to the Babylonians. The fear, shock, despair and suffering of the people within the city walls are palpable. However, I’m not so sure if he found God’s assurance helpful. If anything, it probably left him confused. If I were Jeremiah, I would’ve reacted with cautious elation at first! “Lord! Is there going to be a last-minute reprieve? Are you going to miraculously deliver us from the Babylonians just as you did for our forefathers from the might of the Egyptians!” But the elation would’ve been quickly replaced by doubt, “God, I just cannot see how this is going to be possible?”
God’s reply: “Is anything too hard for me?”, except God doesn’t stop there. He continues by telling Jeremiah that life would return to normal but only after the Babylonians conquer Jerusalem and destroy the city. My response to that would’ve been quick and fast, “Lord, if nothing is too hard for you as you say, why can’t you prevent the city from falling into the hands of the Babylonians in the first place?” That’s the perennial question we are confronted with when it comes to miracles. It is not so much whether God can perform them but his inconsistency in performing them. While we celebrate hearing news of people being healed of cancer, we are in pain and confusion about others who weren’t. How do we make sense of this?
Is God capricious? If the goal of prayer is about getting God to do what we want and when we want Him to as a quid pro quo, then God ceases to be God and someone we love but a tool we use. The nature of the relationship becomes completely transactional, ‘If I do x, then he must do y’. In this scenario, why should I be grateful when my prayers are answered? Furthermore, answers to prayers could hardly be considered miraculous.
But the God of the Bible as revealed by and personified in Jesus is not capricious but gracious, kind, merciful, full of compassion. This means when He doesn’t answer our prayers, we can trust that there is wisdom and love behind his decision. He asks us to trust him to know what’s best in everything. If that’s true, the God who loves us beyond anything, can bring good even out of suffering. John Newton (the author of ‘Amazing Grace’), a slave ship captain who became a Christian and fought against slavery once said, “I have reason to praise [God] for my trials, for, most probably, I should have been ruined without them”. This doesn’t mean we should seek out a life of suffering! No one should want to suffer. Rather, our sufferings will be much easier to bear if we know our suffering has purpose and a larger meaning (even if we can’t see it), like a mother who endures childbirth.
Christ in us the hope of glory!
Mark
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