A Good Connection
What was the message? 14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. God told Jeremiah that evil was coming from the north and it was going to break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. All would succumb to this coming evil and the result would be them following other gods and God was going to judge them for following those gods. Forsake (def) – to renounce or turn away from entirely. To forsake the Lord is a terrible thing and the end result is judgment. That judgment was foretold by Jeremiah as a prophecy, not a warning. IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!!
Too many times we like to be “bailed out” of a bad situation and not have to face the music. Grace and mercy are words we like to hear when failing miserably in our walk with the Lord. Our country still holds onto the past decisions of those who set up our laws and constitution. All of that was centered on the Bible and following the Lord’s way for living and governing and at that time we had a very good connection. Sadly though, our connection has been frayed, and yes, even severed by evil coming into our decision making. Even to the point of leaving God out of the the mix. We have forsaken God and that is not good. If Jeremiah were to come forward today and share this message of doom our media and religious leaders would have him for lunch. They would make him look like some kind of idiot and try to compromise everything he said. We don’t like someone telling us we are doing wrong do we? So in that vein of thinking we falsely believe that we don’t need to expose wrong doings so it doesn’t come back on us. All of this waters down the purity of truth as we know it. In other words, misery loves company!! It’s like there is an inside agreement that says “Don’t tell on me and I won’t tell on you.” Or scratch my back….you get the point. This agreement to do evil can only be dealt with by exposing it and doing away with it.
The people of Jeremiah’s day hated him and hated his message. They didn’t care whether it was from God or whoever. When evil gets a foothold it is hard to root it out. Fram oil filters came out with a commercial years ago that had the byline “Pay me now, or pay me later!” God’s messages were more like “Follow me now or receive judgment later.” But the people of the day let evil take over and they did forsake the Lord. In other words, they renounced the Lord and turned totally away from Him. Is your connection good? Are you hearing God’s message to you? What is He saying to you and how are you responding to that message. Look at what the Psalmist said in Psalm 139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
We need a good connection to see evil for what it is and the Lord’s will for what it is. We aren’t so much different that Jeremiah. We have God’s Word right here with us and for us to follow and in that Word we have all the answers to life’s questions. ALL!! So if we have a good connection we will recognize evil for what it is and stay away from it when it pursues me. If we have a good connection we will hear clearly what God is saying to us and respond with a positive attitude of change. The psalmist continues on in verse 7 with Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. In other words, God is there….right there guiding and bringing light into dark situations and if your connection is good God will make you a light bearer. Not only that, you will be light. John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
Make sure your connection is good and that you are listening to God and then share the message because evil is all around us and darkness needs the light of the lord through believers to be seen. You may not get the most positive response because evil likes darkness and when light comes in it exposes all the bad stuff. But still be light!! A Good Connection!!
The Pilgrimage continues….
David Warren