Have you encountered situations in life you didn’t feel prepared to tackle? Maybe you’ve felt intimidated by expectations or demands of daily living? If so, you can empathize with Jeremiah. At the same time, there is something remarkable about the human spirit God has placed within believers, that against all odds, even if there is no logical basis, we can still have hope!
The five-chapter O.T. book of Lamentations describes the funeral of the city of Jerusalem as a tearstained picture of what was at one time a great city, now reduced to rubble by evil Babylonian attackers. Jeremiah had warned the people they had brought trouble upon themselves in the form of judgment that would come if they didn’t repent. Although they did not repent, Jeremiah turns tragedy into a word of faith, in essentially saying to the people who had “a broken heart,” that God had never failed them and He wasn’t going to fail them now! The faithful, weeping prophet chose to trust in God’s mercies and in confidence say, “Great is Your faithfulness!”
In 2 Kings 13, King Joash heard “Elisha had become sick with the likeness of which he would die,” and wanted help from him about a military problem, recognizing the power of the Lord Elisha had, being an eyewitness to so much. Joash addressed Elisha, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” Elisha, from his sickbed told him to take “a bow and some arrows…open the east window and shoot; and he shot.” And he said, “Take the arrows…strike the ground, so he struck three times and stopped.” And Elisha was angry saying, “you should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have struck Syria and destroyed it!” “Then Elisha died, & they buried him!” Elisha told him in essence, that because of his failure…thousands of years later, this same Syria would be a constant enemy attacking Israel! While the text doesn’t exactly tell us what Elisha died from, it could easily be considered Elisha may have died from “a broken heart,” knowing what Israel would face thousands of years later! Now, Israel would only experience three victories with Syria while they could have destroyed them as enemy, but the opportunity for greater blessing was limited by lack of faith.
As both Jeremiah and Elisha tried to warn Israel, and even when their word was not heeded, it is no different than with America today! The Bible has encouraged us to repent and turn to Him, yet we have not! However, God in His faithfulness still holds out a promise reminding us; “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him’!” (Lam. 3:22-24 NLT)
If today you have “a broken heart” … over our nation’s sins; over the world’s condition; or maybe something personal you’re dealing with, feeling few care about you, what you do, who you are…but, your Heavenly Father cares! He has His eyes upon you, guiding every step, encouraging, rooting for you saying ‘Come on! Keep on! You can make it!’ Receive, and hold to words of Psalm 91: “He’s the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence. He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, and he will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse, His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you. You can run under his covering of majesty and hide. His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm.”
“God can do wonders with a broken heart if you give him all the pieces.” (Victor Alfsen)
Blessings, Psalm 20:7 Dale & Jeannie