Jeremiah 15:15 (NLT)
“Lord, you know what’s happening to me. Please step in and help me…”
Most of us can relate to the words of Jeremiah. We are aware that God is watching our every move. We know that He sees everything we’re going through, and that He knows our pain. We’re asking Him to please step in and help us get on the other side of loneliness and sadness. Why doesn’t it happen already?! Why do we have to continue greeting loneliness everyday like a nagging friend that simply won’t go away. “Lord, will You please just send him to me and let this part of my life be over?” This is the plea in our hearts as we consider facing another morning with our uninvited friend, but we should know that it is not one that goes unanswered. Our God is a very present help, and we must trust this with every part of our hearts.
A friend said to me, “I hate feeling lonely. It’s been almost two years, and I still haven’t met anyone!” I could hear the frustration in her voice and my heart went out to her. Having a deep desire to be married without meeting the right man can be challenging, but God has not left us alone to wade through singleness with unfulfilled desires. He wants to bless us with a relationship that will lead to marriage, and the condition is that we lean and depend on Him with our whole hearts. We must strengthen our relationship with God, and this requires us to renew our minds to His Word and change the way we think.
Jeremiah 15:18-19(NLT) tells us more about Jeremiah’s plea to our Heavenly Father for help. Jeremiah asked, “18 Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry.” Verse 19 tells us, “This is how the LORD responds: “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!”
Our Heavenly Father responded to His prophet Jeremiah with a code of conduct that opens the doors of His blessings. The prophet was really struggling in his mind and heart to fully trust God. He even went as far as to say that God’s help seemed uncertain. This was not the way to honor our Heavenly Father. It wasn’t the kind of thinking that conveys faith, but rather, it conveys doubt.
In God’s response, He told Jeremiah that if he would return to Him, restoration would occur. Jeremiah had turned away from God when he allowed his faith to diminish. He began to do what many of us do today, which is to speak worthless words of doubt and unbelief. Our Heavenly Father makes it clear that these are not words that glorify Him. He is not pleased with them, and He cannot reward a mindset and attitude like that. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 12:36(NLT), “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.” We must be ever so careful to speak good words that express the goodness of our God and the perfection of His love and power.
Our Heavenly Father also said something else to Jeremiah that was really extraordinary. He said, “You must influence them; do not let them influence you!” This is God’s expectation for our conduct towards anyone that we meet and date. So often, we are influenced to do things that are contrary to God’s Will and Word, and this is something we must overcome. Not only must we demonstrate discipline over these temptations, but we must completely flip the script so that we assume the role of being an influencer for Christ. If we’re not prepared to do this, we’re not moving as quickly towards our desires as we could be.
One of the greatest tricks of the enemy is to convince us that we are powerless, hopeless, and without love. This is not the truth. God knows what is happening to us every moment of our lives, and He is always causing things to work together for our good. Our responsibility as born-again believers is to trust in His Word. God’s love is our confidence, and His truth is life to us! So, we must confess what God says is true, and not what we think is true. We have to wake up and recognize that every decision we make today will shape and mold our tomorrows, so we must make our words and actions count. There must be a shift in our thinking to trust God more and focus on ourselves less. When we follow this code of conduct, we will witness movement in our desires, and it will increase in momentum as we continually speak, think, and act like Christ.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God Knows What Is Happening to You”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack and KLizzie for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2024. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.