Glacier Road near Denali
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Isaiah 42:16, New International Version (NIV)
God moves in mysterious ways, ways beyond our understanding and beyond our control. It is important to use all the gifts and resources available to you. But what happens when you reach the end of those resources? If you have lived long enough and are honest, you know you will reach the end in some capacity, whether in work, finances, family, or faith. And when you reach the dead ends, God is there.
He promises that whether or not we execute our lives in faithfulness and integrity, that He does (2 Timothy 2:13). He promises that in our wandering, if we find ourselves in hell on earth, He is there for us (Psalm 139:8). God has a long track record of faithfulness. It is important for us to remember that record. Our memories are woefully short and our lives are regretfully centered on the present. We need to remember.
Winston Churchill challenged his countrymen stating that “those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” His encouragement echoes the encouragement from God found throughout the pages of Scripture, to remember. Remember God’s promises. Remember God’s faithfulness. Remember all the stories of how God came through time and time again for His children.
I recently read an interesting passage found in the book of Jeremiah. At the time, Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians. This did not catch Jeremiah off guard since God had warned him that the city would be overthrown and destroyed. What did catch him off guard was God’s instruction to purchase a nearby field. Why buy a field in a destroyed city that was about to be deserted? God must have a longer play in mind, a bigger picture. And He did. Jeremiah obeyed the instructions and then he prayed. His prayer offers insight for you and me.
The second half of Jeremiah 32 documents Jeremiah’s prayer and God’s response. Jeremiah begins his prayer with the declaration, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.” (Jeremiah 32:17, NIV). He makes a few more worshipful declarations before remembering and recounting a brief history of God’s faithfulness to the Jewish people. It is important to remember.
Jeremiah then declares his understanding of God’s instruction to buy the field in spite of the current siege of the city by the Babylonians. God confirms Jeremiah’s understanding by declaring, “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:26, NIV). God then proclaims His judgement over His people and His city before declaring His ultimate promise to His people; that they will return to inhabit their land and be His people forever.
I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.
Jeremiah 32:40-41, NIV
Finally, God addresses Jeremiah’s concern and question;
Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ Because I will restore their fortunes.
from Jeremiah 32:43-44, NIV
God’s game is the long game. Because of this, we must take a longer view and keep a bigger perspective. Remembering His faithfulness and His promise is vital to our accomplishing all that God has for us. For Jeremiah, that meant purchasing a field when it made no sense under the circumstances. For you and me, it will entail different details, but the same pattern; hearing and obeying God, while remembering His promises and His faithfulness. God will provide confirmation. But that doesn’t mean it will make sense or be easy.
It would be decades, even the next generation, before God’s promise was fulfilled to Jeremiah. But it was fulfilled. It always is. Let’s join God in fulfilling His direction for our lives, by listening and obeying. Remembering and recounting His faithfulness and His promises will provide the strength and courage to take steps of obedience, even when they don’t make sense and their fulfillment is a long way off.