…[they] say to a tree, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave me birth.”
For they have turned their back to me
and not their faces.
But in the time of trouble they say,
“Come and save us!”
I don’t know if Jeremiah would have been accused of having a sunny disposition. Considering what was going on during Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry, the whole apostasy of Israel and subsequent exile to Babylon sort of thing, that’s probably fitting. He had a lot of harsh words for Israel from God, all well deserved. Some of the harshest, and most brutal to me, are what we read above.
God is chastising Israel, putting them on trial so to speak, for their constant insistence on creating, worshiping, and trusting in idols. The worst part? God says that only during times of trouble, only when bowing down before hunks of wood and blocks of metal doesn’t work and the ones who are supposed to be the people of God find themselves surrounded by enemies and destitute, does Israel return to God! It’s as if they are admitting that they knew they were wrong, and now that they actually need rescue or help they’ll come to God.
Are you as cut to the core by that statement as I am?
Think about the love that God has for us. Read the words of Hosea 11:3-4, “Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up in my arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.”
That passage paints a beautiful picture of how God loves us, like a parent who wipes our tears, teaches us how to walk, and comforts us when we feel lost. This reality of God’s unfathomable love for us as the love of a parent is taken even further in Isaiah 49:15, “Can a woman forget her nursing child or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these might forget, yet I will not forget you.”
All of salvation history, from Genesis to Revelation to the Church of today, is the story of God desiring to dwell with His people. Our God has never been a distant, aloof God who we must placate with the right rituals, words, or actions. Our God has always been present, going so far as to send His son, our savior Jesus Christ, to become man and live, walk, laugh, love, cry, and even die among us.
If we are only reaching to God when things are going belly-up and giving our attention to the idols of our lives whenever we aren’t in dire straits, we’re going about life the wrong way. Not only are we placing our faith and trust in things which have no chance of offering us what we seek, but we are ignoring God whose love for us is deeper, wider, and more complete than we could ever imagine.
God loves us when times are great. God loves us in times of trouble. God is with us on the hilltops. God is with us in the valleys swathed in storms. In all these places, God wants to be with us. Furthermore, God desires us to want to be with Him.
Let’s not wait until those times of trouble to spend time with the One who loves us better than we can even love ourselves.
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