Where Is God When We Hurt?

Jeremiah 11:18-21

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"The Lord showed me that men were making plans against me. Because he showed me what they were doing, I knew they were against me. Before this, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be butchered. I did not know they had made plans against me, saying: "Let us destroy the tree and its fruit. Let's kill him so people will forget him."

"But, Lord All-Powerful, you are a fair judge. You know how to test peoples' hearts and minds. I have told you what I have against them. So let me see you give them the punishment they deserve. "

SITUATION God would bring disaster on Israel if they would not repent. He would refuse to hear their prayers and let foreigners invade who would kill and exile many. God granted the Israelites an opportunity to acknowledge their sin and repent.

OBSERVATION After rebuking the people for their sin, Jeremiah overheard about a plot to kill him. The prophet complained to the Lord. He was frustrated and hurt by the hostility he continued to endure.

INSPIRATION Where is God when we hurt? Where is he when sleep won't come? Where is he when we awaken in a hospital bed with pain that won't subside? He's right here! He hung on the the gallows to prove once and for all, with pierced hands and bloodstain face--that he's here--that he didn't create the hurt, but he came to take it away.

When you hurt, God hurts with you. When no one listens to you, God listens to you. When you wipe away tears of loneliness or frustration or anguish, in heaven there's a pierced hand approaching a heavenly face wiping away a tear.

Sometimes storms of life come to teach us that God is in control, that we must lean on him to be thankful for the richness of his blessings to us.

We should serve God even if there is darkness enveloping our life and even if we don't understand what's happening...even when the circumstances of our life don't make sense: Because he is worthy of praise, because he is God. (From The Inspirational Bible, "Hurt")

APPLICATION In what areas of your life do you need to trust God to do what is right? what does it mean to you to believe that his is a sovereign God, in control of every aspect of your life? Thank God that he knows everything about you and still loves you.

EXPLORATION God's Sovereignty-- Exodus 18:11; 1 Chronicles 29:11-12; Job 33:12; Psalm 93:1-2; Jeremiah 27:5

The Inspirational Bible - Experiencing the Heart of Jesus; Max Lucado General Editor, New Century Version; Thomas Nelson Bibles

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