Tag: Jeremiah 51

Defeat as Discipline

In today’s readings, we encounter a challenging truth: not every obstacle or hardship is meant to be overcome. Sometimes, the “bad things” that happen to us are actually God’s way of protecting or disciplining us.

Ezekiel 3:20 (NLT) presents a sobering warning: “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.” Here, God emphasizes that even the righteous are not exempt from discipline. If they turn away from their righteousness, God may place obstacles in their path, not to be overcome, but as a form of discipline.

In Jeremiah 28, the false prophet Hananiah tells the people of Judah that God will break the yoke of Babylon and free them within two years. However, Jeremiah counters this by saying that their captivity is God’s will and must be endured. Hananiah’s false prophecy leads to his death, underscoring the severity of trying to escape or misrepresent God’s discipline.

These passages remind us that not every challenge is meant to be overcome. Sometimes, what we perceive as obstacles are actually God’s protective hand or corrective discipline at work. When we try to “escape” these challenges, we might miss the lesson or the protection God intends for us.

Rather than rushing to overcome every difficulty, we need to ask ourselves: Is this obstacle God’s way of protecting me? Is this hardship His discipline? Trusting in God’s plan, even when it involves discomfort, can lead to greater growth and alignment with His will.

For Now Isn’t Forever

In our journey through life, we often find ourselves adjusting to our circumstances, whether they be moments of joy or seasons of hardship. This adjustment, while necessary, can sometimes deceive us into believing that our current situation is permanent. Psychologists refer to this tendency as the “status quo bias,” where we assume that the way things are now is how they will continue to be, leading us to resist change or fail to anticipate it.

I experienced this personally when my mother-in-law suffered a brain aneurysm. The aneurysm left her unable to recover, and though her body continued to function, the prognosis was bleak. For five days, our family sat with her in the hospital, watching and waiting. It was shocking how quickly the surreal became routine. The beeping machines, the sterile smell of the hospital, the cost of parking—they all became a new normal. When she finally passed on that fifth day, it felt as though she had died again, as we were jolted out of a reality we had inadvertently settled into.

The story of King Zedekiah demonstrates a similar situation. Zedekiah was granted a temporary reprieve when the Babylonian forces withdrew from Jerusalem to face another threat. Instead of seeking God or using this time to prepare, Zedekiah seemed to assume that this new reality would persist. He mistook the pause in pressure as a lasting peace. But as we read in Jeremiah 37, that peace was fleeting. The Babylonians returned, and Jerusalem’s fate was sealed.

Like Zedekiah, we can easily become complacent, mistaking temporary relief as a permanent state. But as Christians, we are called to live with a different mindset. We are reminded in Scripture to always be vigilant, to be in a constant state of readiness for whatever God may call us to next. We are not to settle into our current circumstances, assuming they will last forever, but rather to trust that God is at work in every season, preparing us for His next move.

Our lives are full of transitions, and while it’s natural to adapt to our surroundings, we must not let our temporary circumstances define our expectations for the future. Whether in times of peace or in the midst of trials, we should continually seek God, asking Him what He desires to teach us and how He wants us to prepare for what lies ahead.

Let us remember that for now isn’t forever. Our trust should not be in the permanence of our circumstances, but in the eternal God who guides us through them. We must remain ready, always seeking, always listening, and always prepared to follow where He leads.

When God Stops Protecting

When we read about the judgment on Assyria and Babylon, it might seem perplexing. How can God punish them for carrying out actions that fulfilled His will? But the answer is deceptively simple: God did not force these nations to act. Instead, He removed His protection from Israel, allowing them to experience the consequences of their own choices.

Israel’s rebellion against God led to a withdrawal of His protective hand, leaving them vulnerable to the sinful ambitions of surrounding nations. Babylon and Assyria, driven by their own greed and desire for power, seized the opportunity to conquer and oppress. These nations were never acting righteously; they were merely acting according to their own sinful desires. And yet, their actions were part of God’s greater plan to discipline Israel.

God’s judgment on Babylon and Assyria reminds us that while He may use the actions of others to accomplish His purposes, it doesn’t excuse their wrongdoing. Israel needed to experience the consequences of their rebellion to understand the severity of their actions and to turn back to God. But that doesn’t absolve the nations of their guilt.

In our own lives, there are times when God may allow us to face the consequences of our choices. It’s not that He wills us to suffer, but that He wants us to see the impact of living outside His protection and guidance. Yet, even in the midst of discipline, God’s love and desire for our restoration remain constant.