Jeremiah 15: 16 Your words are what sustain me. They bring me great joy and are my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty. All through the book of Jeremiah, God is telling Jeremiah about the punishment that Israel will incur because they have turned so totally away from God. Jeremiah usually responds either by asking God for protection and mercy or by reminding God how he is totally dependent on Him. There are times when he is confused by he is suffering along with the people, and times when he is frustrated because everyone hates him (since his message of destruction is so unpopular – can’t imagine why). In this part of the chapter he goes on to ask why his wound (?) is so incurable and why God’s help seems so uncertain. God says to return to Him and be restored (was Jeremiah influenced by the corruption around him? Or did he not want to tell Israel the words of God? I don’t know). Anyhow, I liked this verse. Jeremiah’s word of God was literally the spoken word of God. Our word of God is the written word of God. We get it second hand, but Jeremiah had it straight from His mouth. How powerful that must have been! I know that when I’m hurting or upset, and I read my Bible, I’m hoping to read something that will encourage or uplift me or remind me of God’s love and faithfulness and promises. If just reading that brings hope, I can only imagine what it must be like to hear that straight out of the mouth of God! Talk about affirmation! Jeremiah talks about bearing God’s name. I’m not entirely sure what he means by that. To bear something means to carry it or to survive it (as in, I can hardly bear to hear that said). He carried the words of God to the people Israel, so it’s pretty likely that that’s what he meant. As Christ-followers, we bear the name (or carry the name) of Jesus, too. As we try to live the way He wants us to, we are “Jesus with skin on” to the people around us. And that should bring us joy and delight. Not because it gets us stuff, but because we are so blessed and fortunate to be loved and chosen by such an amazing God. His words sustain in time of trouble, and we find joy because we bear His name.
Do you ever wonder if God’s trying to tell you something? Like, no matter whose church you’re at, you always hear about the same subject? Maybe that’s just me, and tithing. We tithe. We believe it’s really important to tithe. And, oddly enough, the sermon at my in-laws’ church that we went to on Saturday was about tithing… but not about the amount. It was about attitude. Maybe that’s the point God’s trying to get home. Yeah, tithing is important, and I feel that 10% is equally important, but I know there are times when it’s more of an obligation, instead of a joy. And I don’t really believe God for His promises… so maybe my attitude needs adjusting. In the Old Testament, when people tithed, they had to recite a short rendition of what God had done for them by bring thing out of Egypt and through the wilderness. Perhaps when I tithe I should focus on and remember the things God’s done in my life. I whine sometimes that God does stuff for other people and not for me… but then I realize how richly blessed I am. Oh, I may not be blessed in the way I’m wanting (like financially so we can get out of debt), but I am very blessed in other ways (like having an incredible husband, and wonderful little boys who are relatively healthy, John and I both have jobs and working vehicles, etc.). So, my whining is invalidated. Oh, and one more thing that struck me, this time from our worship leader on Sunday (Carolyn Pancala who is INCREDIBLE!!!) – she said, don’t focus on the problem, focus on the problem-solver. In other words, GLORIFY the problem-solver, not the problem. Too often I focus so much on the problem, basically glorifying it and making it important. Really, I should be focusing on the One who can solve that problem and bringing Him glory instead! Perspective, I guess.