When I think of the man Jeremiah, I always think of courage. A courage I so wish I had. Courage you probably wish you had, but I won’t assume things. I read Jer. 33:1-3 recently which says:
“The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: ‘Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
A few things out of this passage resounded with me. The first being that this was Jeremiah’s second time being spoken to by the Lord; he was familiar to intimate moments with God. The second thing was that of God’s resume, so to speak. As his word is announced so are his credentials: the creator of the universe.
There is no mistaking who is talking here. I also notice in these verses that it is not while Jeremiah is enjoying hot coffee by the fire that the Word comes to him. It is while in the court of the guard. It doesn’t sound like a walk in the park kind of day for Jeremiah.
The last thing I notice is that it is a command by God to Jeremiah to call upon Him and then God, the Creator Himself, will show him things he has not known.
Each one of these points hit an all too vulnerable spot in my heart. What about my intimacy with God? I’m not even necessarily talking about devotional times. I am talking about the times when the world is so numbingly loud that He must speak to the quiet spots of my soul and in an instant I know what I heard.
I know who spoke to me without even needing the resume. The Creator of the universe spoke into my life, my being. I am not as familiar with these times as I should be. Sometimes I mistake such a beautiful moment as my own thoughts or perhaps the bad pizza I ate for lunch.
These verses also made me think about some days I have had recently. No, nothing nearly as hard as being in the guard’s court, but also don’t get me wrong, they were hard days for me. They ARE hard days for me.
It is then that God asks me – no… commands me to call to Him. To call to Him so he can reveal His work.
These things are secrets and intimacies that I share with Him. They will have their time to be revealed, but for now they are things only God Himself and I know. They are things He shows me to give me hope and to change me, things to give me courage.
These times show me that life is about His plan and His glory but that He cares about the state of my heart. I need hope that He does great things and that my world is not in my own control.
What a relief that He reveals new things to me because He knows I need to hear them! Call to Him and he will show you things you do not know, and these things very well may change your life.