Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22 (NRSV)
Read Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 7Although our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name's sake; our apostasies indeed are many, and we have sinned against you. Verse 8O hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night? Verse 9Why should you be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give help? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us!
Verse 10Thus says the Lord concerning this people: Truly they have loved to wander, they have not restrained their feet; therefore the Lord does not accept them, now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. Verse 19Have you completely rejected Judah? Does your heart loathe Zion? Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us? We look for peace, but find no good; for a time of healing, but there is terror instead. Verse 20We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord, the iniquity of our ancestors, for we have sinned against you. Verse 21Do not spurn us, for your name's sake; do not dishonor your glorious throne; remember and do not break your covenant with us. Verse 22Can any idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God? We set our hope on you, for it is you who do all this.
Devotion
People who live in rural areas know how a drought impacts all of life. When there is no life-giving water, the crops and the livestock suffer to the point of death. When the people of Jeremiah’s day faced a catastrophic drought, they could come to only one conclusion: the drought is God’s punishment on His people for their sins. So they would plead to God saying, “Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not forsake us!” [NRSV]
While I do not believe that God causes a drought to teach us a lesson, I do believe that we can learn from all that happens to us. In the midst of hard times, we struggle to understand why things happen. But perhaps it is more important to recognize our need for forgiveness, come to our loving Father, and receive not only the promise, but the reality of new life each day.
Prayer
O Lord, we set our hope on you. Fill us, empower us, change us. Amen.