June 2022

               We all have issues in life. We all can question what is happening not only in our own life but in the world. And I know for me, as events transpire I can find myself asking God what I am doing wrong. As I look for answers I found myself contemplating the prayer recorded in Jeremiah 10:23-25.

                               “Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;” (Je 10:23)

               Some of my most challenging times are when I try to take total control of my life and its events. When I do this I find myself with elevated levels of stress. So many outside influences affect my life; people at work, family demands, illness or fatigue, all of these and more can interfere in the plans I make for myself. When I come to terms with this the stress goes down. Life is hard when one tries to bull their way through. Life is easier when one learns to bend like a reed in the wind and understand some things are out of our control.

                               “…it is not for them to direct their steps.” (Je 10:23)

               My life is not how I imagined it would be at this age. If I dwell on this too much, again stress is the result.

 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” (Eph 1:11) I may not be where I thought I would be at this stage of my life, but I am where God wants me to be at this stage of my life. By focusing on this I can relieve the stress over trying to be something or somewhere I am not. By focusing on this I can be thankful for the things I do have and I can thank God. By focusing on this I find God to be central in my life and my thoughts.

I believe Jeremiah 10:23 goes beyond the way I look at my life. I believe it also says how I are to look at others lives. Not everybody will do things the way I want them done. By not trying to direct their steps I feed the relationship between us. God directs my family and friends steps as candidly as he directs mine.

               “Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure – not in your anger.” (Je10:24)

As believers God cannot be angry at our mistakes because he exhausted all his anger over them on the body of Christ at the cross. God may point out things to us, he may nudge us in a direction, He may let us make our mistakes so we may learn from them, but he never will punish us or do things in our lives just to cause us discomfort or pain. God is holy, what the whip and nail of the cross paid for can never be used against us.

               Let Jeremiah’s prayer be ours.

Pastor Jim