Call and I Will Answer
This is the word of the LORD to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
“Judah mourns, her cities languish; they wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads.
The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads.
Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass. Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights and pant like jackals; their eyesight fails for lack of pasture.”
Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you.
O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night?
Why are you like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? You are among us, O LORD, and we bear your name; do not forsake us! Jeremiah 14:1-9
Over the last decade, disaster response teams have received national attention and well-deserved appreciation. Valiant responses to the attacks on 9/11, the natural disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and countless forest fires, and of course the ongoing Middle Eastern wars, have all served as a platform for search and rescue tactics and heroics. The United States employs many groups of women and men whose job is to await disaster and respond quickly and effectively.
In today’s devotion, we read a lament to God in response to famine, sword, and pestilence and are challenged to consider our understanding of God’s actions. The accusations of verses 8-9 are haunting: “O hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night? Why should you be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?” I can recall similar sentiments bouncing around my own mind. Why are you like a stranger to me Lord; like a traveler taking rest; someone confused or a helpless warrior? I have viewed the Lord in each of these contexts during my weakest moments of trial.
When I imagine God in this way it’s because my expectations are delusional. I forget that God’s sovereignty may at times cause him to neglect my plea. Too often, I view God as disaster relief—waiting for my call and swooping down immediately into the midst of my trouble and lifting me from despair—a needs-based-only kind of God.
Though God may at times seem like a stranger in the land, a traveler turning aside for the night, someone confused, or even a mighty warrior that cannot give help, we also have the powerful claim of Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
