Questions for God

JEREMIAH   CHAPTER 12

Jeremiah questioned the Lord and asked him why the wicked seem prosperous and the evil happy? Your name is on their lips but in their hearts they give you no credit, says Jeremiah.  But you know me, yet you test my thoughts and I see  people dragged away to be butchered. How long must this land weep?

The Lord replied to Jeremiah that he tested him so that if racing against mere men made him tired, how would he race against horses. And if he should stumble, how would he make it to the thickets of Jordan. Don't trust even your own family, the Lord said. They speak pleasantly, but plot against you.

God told him of how the chosen people were like vultures And though many rulers had ravaged his vineyard and trampled it into a wasteland, he hears it cry. No one will escape destruction and his people will have a crop of shame. As for the evil nations reaching out for the inheritance given Israel, God would uproot them but later have compassion on them and bring them home to their land. And if these nations learn quickly and swear by my name, says God, then they will have a place among my people.

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? Interesting that Jeremiah asks a question many people ask today. Why are the wicked prosperous. Or so it seems. And God didn't really answer the question directly. Instead he told Jeremiah- if you think this is bad, how are you going to cope when it gets really bad?

Sometimes God's answers to prayer and questions are not always nice or easy to handle. We see this happen when we lose a loved one to a serious illness. But we are able to be committed to God even when things get tough and when our prayers are not immediately answered. This is part of our faith. Nobody said it was easy to have faith. Nobody said it was easy to be a Christian. But we will know the everlasting compassion and love from our God.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:


HEALTH: Pray for Gabe.

Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.

Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer and for her sister Wanda’s soul which went to heaven.

Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with a form of MS.

Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.

Pray for Gary Summers, my friend from church, who has cancer.

Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.

Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer. Update on Robert: he has one more treatment and then three months of waiting for his psat test to come back clean.

Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.

SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary

RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John

LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian

SUPPORT: Pray for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom. Pray for our famers and those who raise livestock during this terrible drought.