.JPG)
The Bible Breakdown
Bible reading plan and SOAP guide: www.experiencerlc.com/the-bible
Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: www.brandoncannon.com
The Bible Breakdown
Jeremiah 16: Trusting God in Tough Times
Ask a Question
Send Encouragement
|||| Take a Next Step ||||
SOAP Bible Study Method.
Bible Reading Plan.
Free Weekly Newsletter.
|||| Social ||||
Facebook.
Instagram.
X.
YouTube.
The More We Dig. The More We Find.
Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, pastor Brandon, today, jeremiah chapter 16, and today's title is Trusting God in Tough Times. Trusting God in Tough Times and we could have also called this Jeremiah the Lifelong Bachelor, but we're going to get into that in just a moment, because we don't always get to hear a lot of the background of the lives of these prophets and kind of what's going on in the world around them, and I think we can forget that these are real people, lived in real times, with real desires and also real things going on around them, and so to me, this chapter really kind of gives us a glimpse into that. We'll get into all that in just a moment, but while you're getting your Bibles out and open to Jeremiah chapter 16, as always, if you're new around here we'd love for you to like, share and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you're leaving us a five-star review on the podcast and make sure you're going to the Facebook discussion group called Bible Breakdown Discussion. There's an amazing group of people that are doing devotions there every single day and they are doing a wonderful job. It's a really great way for you to get a different concept on the topics and the chapters that we're covering, and the more we dig, the more we find. And so, once again, if you have your Bibles, want to open up with me to Jeremiah, chapter 16.
Speaker 1:Real, quickly, for the podcast listeners, nothing has changed for you, but for the people who watch on YouTube, you will probably notice that I am back to the way I was doing it and I don't have the scripture on the screen, having a couple technical difficulties. So for the next few episodes we're going to go back to where we used to do it, but the other way is coming back again. We're going to experiment with it, but I like having that. So for now, back to business as usual. Right back to business as usual, right, and I want to remind you that the overall goal of Jeremiah is he is talking about a future and a hope, despite terrible circumstances.
Speaker 1:And just kind of as that reminder as well, jeremiah was a prophet after Israel. Remember, israel had split into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. You had Israel, then you had Judah, and I know sometimes I'm probably confusing you a little bit, because I will refer to the people he's talking to as Israel, and what I mean by that is the overall people group, not the two kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel and I know that sounds confusing they've already been destroyed by Assyria. They're gone. What's left is Judah and Judah is they're on their way to been destroyed by Assyria. They're gone. What's left is Judah and Judah is they're on their way to being destroyed by Babylon.
Speaker 1:And that's kind of the idea about what's going on is, even though they are declaring the prophets, are declaring peace and safety, jeremiah, the true prophet of God. He is saying guys, they're coming, and because we are not willing to change our ways, god is not going to stop them from coming and destroying us. However, even in the justice of God, there's still a future and a hope, because God's not going to utterly forsake us. And you imagine the life that Jeremiah had. He is living in Jerusalem, he's around the temple. We have all these false prophets. Jerusalem, he's around the temple, we have all these false prophets, and so you can imagine he is constantly going to the temple and arguing back and forth with these different prophets. And we can already tell you know, earlier and just a few chapters ago, they tried to kill Jeremiah and didn't succeed. And we think about this and him battling in this way.
Speaker 1:But have you ever also just remembered that Jeremiah was a real guy? He lived in a real world. He had real problems, just like everybody else, and he had the same desires everybody else does. There were people around him who would die. He'd want to go to their funeral. He likely wanted to have a family, but we see today whether or not he ever had one Spoiler alert. He didn't.
Speaker 1:God actually told him to not get married, and that may sound sad, unless you think about the fact that when an invading army would come in, they would do terrible things to families. And God is saying I don't want you to have to experience that, jeremiah. And so it's a horrible thing, but it saves him from something even worse. And so I just want us to get our minds around the idea that Jeremiah was a real person who had real desires, and he sees what's coming. I mean, that's one thing for a tragedy to come upon you and you not expect it. It's quite another to know a tragedy is coming and having to get ready for it. And so he's trusting God in hard times and knowing hard times are on their way. Let's read this together and see what God's word will say to us you ready? Jeremiah 16, verse 1 says this.
Speaker 1:The Lord gave me another message. He said do not get married or have children in this place, verse 3. For this is what the Lord says about the children born here in the city and about the mothers and fathers. They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them. Wow, verse 5, this is what the Lord says.
Speaker 1:Do not go to funerals to mourn or to show sympathy for these people, for I have removed my protection and peace from them. I have taken away my unfailing love and my mercy. Both the great and the lowly will die in this land. No one will bury them or mourn for them. Their friends will not cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads in sadness. No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead, not even at death, the death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them. And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do not eat and drink with them at all.
Speaker 1:For this is what the Lord of heaven's armies, the God of Israel, says In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter. In this land, the joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. And when they tell the people all these things, or when you tell the people all these things, they will ask why has the Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sins against the Lord, our God? And then you will give them the Lord's reply it is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my words. And you are even worse than your ancestors. You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me. So I will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign land where you and your ancestors have never been. There you can worship idols day and night, and I will grant you no favors. And then, here it is, hope, despite disaster.
Speaker 1:But the time is coming, says the Lord, when the people who are taking an oath will no longer say, as surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people out of Israel, out of the land of Egypt. Instead, they will say as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them. For I will bring them back to this land that I have given. I've gave their ancestors Verse 1. I am watching them closely and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. I will double their punishment for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and filled my territory with their evil deeds. Lord, you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble. Nations from around the world will come to you and say our ancestors left us a foolish heritage, for they worshipped worthless idols. Can people make their own gods? These are not real gods at all. And the Lord says now I will show them my power, now I will show them my might. At last they will know and understand that I am the Lord. Wow.
Speaker 1:So what is happening in this chapter is God is telling Jeremiah bad times are on the way, so get ready. And he says don't get married, because it's going to be too hard for you if you do. Then he says don't go to funerals and don't go to feasts, because all these bad things are on the way. But even then, though, he said even then, the time will come when I will bring my people back and guess what that happens? Later on, we'll find out that the nation of Israel was destroyed. Excuse me, the nation of Israel has already been destroyed. The nation of Judah is destroyed, and then for 70 years they're in exile, but after 70 years they come back again. God does not forsake them forever.
Speaker 1:And then, you see, at the end of this chapter, jeremiah is saying Lord, you are my strength and my fortress that's hard to say my refuge in the day of trouble. And so I think the big question for us today is where are we going to turn in tough times? It's obvious that when times are tough, we're supposed to turn to God. But when we turn to God, do we turn to God in desperation, or do we turn to God and say God, I know you're able to do something? He is not saying God, I hope you will. He's saying God, you are my strength and my fortress, you are my refuge in the day of trouble. One of the things we have to remember when we're going through hard times which is so hard to do, but we're going through these times is to remember the faithfulness in the past, remember who God is, because God is just the same in the sunlight as he is in the darkness, and so when we do that, it increases our faith, because we realize God is faithful. One other thing I want to share with you before we end our time together. Notice how they say our ancestors left us a foolish heritage. They worshiped worthless idols.
Speaker 1:I think it's also very important that we trust God in tough times, not just for ourselves, but for everybody else around us. Do you know? I love the phrase a guy named Sir Francis Assisi said one time, and he said preach the gospel at all times and then, if necessary, use words. And I have noticed many times that some of the greatest testimonies weren't ones that people spoke with their mouths, but ones that they lived with their lives. And that is not that people show with perfection. It's what do you do when you struggle. The greatest testimonies you will share with people is not how you succeed, but how you struggle. And can I tell you, people respect you over your successes, but they connect with you in your failures, in your weaknesses. And so we don't just trust God in tough times for our own benefit, but we trust God, for those who will come after us, those who are watching our lives, and that shouldn't give us this extra sense of weight and responsibility, but rather an opportunity to realize that even in our weak places, we can trust God.
Speaker 1:So here's the question I would ask you as we end our time together today, and that is this when do you tend to put your trust in tough times? Do you automatically think, well, I'm just going to work harder, I'm going to work my way through this problem. There's nothing wrong with that, but that shouldn't be your primary source of hope. Your primary source of hope is to trust in God, and he will give you the strength. Your primary source of hope is to trust in God, and he will give you the strength.
Speaker 1:Do you go to a substance or a broken thing, a sinful thing, when you experience a hard time and the goal is not to overcome the hard time but to numb yourself during the hard time? Well, god may want to heal you from that, so that you can struggle well and you can point toward him in those difficult times. What do you do when tough times come? What would it look like for you to determine now that when the next tough time comes, or in the middle of the one? Right now, I'm going to turn to the Lord, because he's the only safe place anyway. And then the second thing is is what are you going to do so that the people coming after you can trust God too? And sometimes the only answer to that is is I'm going to do the best I can to never stop turning to the Lord, because that's ultimately what we're supposed to do.
Speaker 1:Let's pray together right now, god, thank you so much for today. Thank you, lord, that your word tells us the truth and it tells us that tough times will come. Sometimes they're tough times of our own making, sometimes they just come on their own, but the one thing that never changes is that you are there with us. I pray you'll help us to trust you more completely every single day, for you are trustworthy. In Jesus' name we pray Amen and amen, what God's Word says in Jeremiah 29, 13,. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. My hope is that you will find God more every single day. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. For Jeremiah, chapter 17.
