Pastor's Column 1/26/2025

PASTOR’S COLUMN

“This is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them. Fields will again be bought and sold in this  land which you now say, “It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared. Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold – deeds signed and sealed and witnessed – in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah  and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Jeremiah 32: 42-44, NLT                                         

“Much More Restored”   

Changes in our lives that bring ominous signs of loss will always trigger a feeling of uncertainty. We wonder silently and aloud what will become of the stability we are accustomed to, when our hopes are dashed. We witness this in the slow, meandering walk of the women toward the tomb where Jesus was laid on that first Resurrection morning. A tense feeling is projected in their voices: “Who will roll the stone away [for us].” The women realized that their separation from their Lord was made more difficult by the 500-pound stone-boulder that sealed the tomb. Life’s swift changes have a way of making us feel we’ve been locked out of the entrances that provide us with a level of security.  We can be confident in the fact that the Scriptures reveal a God who is intensely aware of the difficulties we face. We see this in the prophet Jeremiah’s life.  Prior to Jerusalem being invaded by the Babylonian armed forces, Jeremiah warned the people of a desolate time to come. The situation deteriorated in Jerusalem with its religious, social, and economic life collapsing, God told Jeremiah to purchase property. This must have seemed like an odd request; the properties had no value, and the outlook was so bleak. God promised Jeremiah, if he obeyed His directive, prosperity would eventually come. God promised restoration beyond despair.  However great our losses are, God can restore much more, for He says, “Is anything too hard for me?” (Jer. 32:27).