Blessed God of the Ages, be the God of right now, today, in the life of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from Jeremiah 32: 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, 3 where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him. 6 Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours." 8 Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself." Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. 9 And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11 Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; 12 and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13 In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, 14 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. 15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
Our trouble is that we sometimes get too busy with being busy that we forget God is in the details. We tend to think we're too smart, too strong, too self-reliant to allow God's guidance in our lives. Such was the case in most of the Bible stories, yet God sought out to be among those who knew, loved, and trusted Him. And in today's text, Jeremiah received the Word of God in the midst of a terrible war that his country was losing. The stress and anxiety about this war and all that the implications that came with it made thinking about investing in land something foolish. If you knew your country was about to be invaded, would buying land rank high among the priorities of the day? Yet, God tells Jeremiah to buy land. And God outlined exactly the way this purchase was going to happen. He even named names of those who would be involved. And so it happened. It was God's way of saying no matter how life rages on around you, I am still in control, it is I who have the last word in all things. Even that which seems like the least of your worries, in my book, matter more. The purchase of this land gave hope that this land would remain in the hands of those who loved God.
Can you hear God even in the howling of the wind outside? Can you be still enough to hear God telling you what hope God can offer to you even when others say all is hopeless?
PRAYER: Awesome God, help me to slow down and be still enough to hear Your voice. The voices on the television and on the radio speak a word that confuses my faith at times, and it's in the midst of all the madness that I need to hear You. Speak to my heart, enter my heart and let me have hope so that I may share hope. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
