May the mumbling commence!
In the midst of trying times, the best thing to do is to surrender to the will of the Lord – even when that surrender would seem to lead to death. Remember that Jesus said, “Those who seek to save their lives will lose them, and those who give up their lives for my sake will find them.” That was the case as the forces of Babylon surrounded Jerusalem in the days of Jeremiah. Read from Jeremiah 21:8-10 –
"Furthermore, tell the people, 'This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; he will escape with his life. I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.'
Surrender to the enemy?!? Is that the way to walk with of the Lord? In this case, yes, it is the way to walk with the Lord. The city was set apart for destruction. Its people had already surrendered to the nations around it – with their idols. Jerusalem and Judah had sullied themselves beyond recognition in their lust for other gods (Read Ezekiel 23.).
Judah lusted after the gods of her enemies. Jesus told us to love our enemies. The Lord told Judah and Israel that the whole world would be blessed through them. But this lust they displayed did not show the love and blessing that God commanded of His chosen people. Judah was to share the blessings of obedience to God’s commands, which are a manifestation of God’s love for all people. And God’s words have reached their apex in the life of Jesus Christ.
We have Jesus, and we need no other. So, why do we still chase after the idols of this world? We sully the pure light of Jesus that would shine through us otherwise. We work against the Holy Spirit, which is given as a gift to all believers. The idols of this world – like fame and fortune – are no better than spent batteries in the context of eternity. They grant us neither the quantity nor the quality of life eternal. They are but a shadow of what God has in store for His faithful. We cannot take our earthly fame and fortune with us into God’s kingdom. We must leave these things behind at the entrance gate.
Let us surrender our lusting after fame and fortune this day onward. Let us be content to live abundantly with what God provides us. Let us share God’s abundance joyfully with all others. This living and this sharing are the essence of loving our enemies and blessing them – helping to usher them into the kingdom of heaven.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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