Jeremiah 14:7-10

“Why 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!” vs. 9

Judah was in a period of famine and drought, with powerful enemies closing in on every side, and they needed the Lord’s help. But nothing was happening, and the people were in despair. As was their custom they complained, perhaps hoping they could provoke the Lord into action. We’re not above those kinds of tactics ourselves. When things are not going well in our lives, blaming God is second nature, especially if we consider ourselves to be God’s chosen ones. Somewhere we’ve gotten the idea that God is just hanging around on the fringes of our lives, able to help, but choosing to not intervene. And if we’ve grown up believing that God is an interventionist, one who shows up in times of trouble to rescue and deliver, it’s natural to wonder what’s up when it seems we’re alone. The truth is, of course, that God is never apart from us and is inextricably involved in all that we are or do. When we feel forsaken God is right there with us in our forsakenness, and God uses those feelings to sustain and connect with us. Jesus was never so close to God as in the moment of his death on the cross, and so it is for us.

Thought for the Day: What are the blessings of forsakenness?