Part 1: Faith Under Fire
Day 2: Remembering what God has already done
Jeremiah 32:16-25
Ever been in a jam? You imagined that it was really going to turn out badly? Did God come through? Living in a fallen world there are times it may look like it is going to turn out badly and it does. At the same time, as creatures who receive God’s Common Grace there are times when it should have really been bad, and it works our better than you could have imagined. Cultivating a mindset of thanksgiving is going to require that we dwell on the times God shows his mercy and rescues us. If we focus on the negative, we are bound not to look on God with hope, but with bitterness.
In today’s reading Jeremiah is reflecting on the Judgement that God will pour out on Judah by sending the Chaldeans, while also reflecting on the God who rescued the Israelites from Egypt. The people are disobedient to the God who took them out of slavery by defeating the greatest empire the world had at that time. God’s defeat of Pharaoh is proof of God’s care for Israel. But Israel is disobedient, they are forgetful of this God who has been so good to them. So, Jeremiah utters “What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it.”
Without the goodness of God, his righteous judgement is not love but malice. And in our hardships, we may convince ourselves that we are on the receiving end of God’s malice. We should be mindful to remember how we are often the recipients of God’s grace. Like the Israelites we all sin and are deserving of God’s wrath always, but instead we experience seasons of hardship alongside his endless mercies. Pray that God help you to focus on his mercy which is new every morning. Pray that he conforms us more into the image of His Son Jesus when hardships come. Bitterness in not a great look on anyone, especially the Christian that has gotten so much from Jesus, whose suffering make us whole.
A thanksgiving prayer: Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks that demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments that satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he conquered death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
In today’s reading Jeremiah is reflecting on the Judgement that God will pour out on Judah by sending the Chaldeans, while also reflecting on the God who rescued the Israelites from Egypt. The people are disobedient to the God who took them out of slavery by defeating the greatest empire the world had at that time. God’s defeat of Pharaoh is proof of God’s care for Israel. But Israel is disobedient, they are forgetful of this God who has been so good to them. So, Jeremiah utters “What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it.”
Without the goodness of God, his righteous judgement is not love but malice. And in our hardships, we may convince ourselves that we are on the receiving end of God’s malice. We should be mindful to remember how we are often the recipients of God’s grace. Like the Israelites we all sin and are deserving of God’s wrath always, but instead we experience seasons of hardship alongside his endless mercies. Pray that God help you to focus on his mercy which is new every morning. Pray that he conforms us more into the image of His Son Jesus when hardships come. Bitterness in not a great look on anyone, especially the Christian that has gotten so much from Jesus, whose suffering make us whole.
- What has been your greatest hardship to date? Was it of your own making?
- What are you most thankful for in your life? Was it something you worked towards or was it something that came to you by happenstance?
- Is there any unchecked bitterness within you? Do you see how thanksgiving can be the path away from bitterness?
- Take out a pen and a paper and spend 5 minutes writing everything you are thankful for. If you are in a hard time start with the broad things, life, air, sleep, favorite foods. You may find 5 minutes could have easily been 10.
A thanksgiving prayer: Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks that demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments that satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he conquered death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.