Read: Jeremiah 1:11-19
I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you. (v.19)
Trusting God is easy when life is good. It becomes more challenging when life falls apart. In his first conversation with Jeremiah, God warned that life was about to fall apart. He said, “I will declare my judgments against [my people], for all their evil in forsaking me” (v. 16).
For centuries, God’s people had doubted him, taken matters into their own hands, and suffered because of it. He would put an end to their wickedness but would use these same circumstances to restart his relationship with them. It’s hard to trust a God who sends disaster. However, if God could send disaster, he could also send deliverance. God’s warning to Jeremiah came with a promise: “I am with you . . . to deliver you” (v. 19). This is what God tells believers in all times and places: “Your circumstances are my doing” and “I am with you to deliver you.” When the exile came, God reassured Jeremiah by this small, spoken word of promise.
What is our reassurance? The “Word became flesh” (John 1:14). When our judgment came, it fell on Jesus at the cross. The apostle Paul wrote, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). No matter our trouble, we can trust that we will not be overcome and that because of Jesus, God is with us. —Ben Van Arragon
As you pray, ask God to help you to live in his presence and trust his provision.
About the Author
Ben Van Arragon is the Minister of Worship and Leadership at Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He preaches and teaches the Bible in church, online, and anywhere else he has the opportunity.
