JEREMIAH chapter 45 verses 1 – 5 are an encouragement to the
scribe, Baruch.
Those of us who’ve had our backs broken in life, in a
spiritual way, find ourselves in a peculiar state of being: the only thing that
matters is serving God. Fortunately, we can bless our families in our serving
of God, otherwise they’d not get a look in. Having died we came to life in a
new mind and, indeed, a new body. I died on September 22, 2003. I died several
times over the intervening period. Some may read these words and find me
melodramatic, but there is something never more compelling in the state of
having given up on yourself, ever. The desire I had for my own way — the way it
was — has gone. That period transformed me in so many ways. I am so thankful to
God for what he has done. I had no choice. It happened to me. But it was for
the best.
Baruch’s story is something akin to the grief I experienced,
having lost my family and home overnight. Baruch suffered under the persecution
of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, as did Jeremiah. Baruch was “weary with groaning…”
and unable to find any rest. Baruch suffered long enough to be transformed by
his suffering, for, without much suffering, there cannot be much growth.
Longsuffering teaches transformation. Without much suffering
there cannot be much growth. We cannot be expected to rely on God with great
acuity unless we are pushed beyond our own limits of self-reliance regularly
enough and long enough.
Where is this headed? We are getting back on track from the
excursus.
When we have been transformed by a sustained period of
suffering, there is a yearning inside, like never before or since, to want to
serve the Lord; to be used!
We never wanted to be used by anyone before; we never wanted
to be exploited. Yet, given the period of loss we have entered and endured,
nothing matters anymore; nothing matters apart from the doing of God’s will.
Every other part of us has been parted away.
The Lord says to Jeremiah, who dictates to Baruch who scribes
the words, “And you, do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them…”
Baruch is chastised for seeking to do “great things” for the Lord. We want the
same; the opportunity to do wonderfully blessed things for God even to the
point of notoriety.
But we forget that our Lord, who had nowhere to rest his
head, and never had a home to call his own, was famous not for big things; but
for the little things that were actually big — healing miracles no less. Are we
to seek great things for ourselves? We are better to run in the opposite
direction and actually shun notoriety. That’s how we will know the genuine
minister of God — through their reticence for fame that reveals their overblown
pride (the chief niche the enemy uses to destroy us).
***
If we would be desperate to be used by God we must recognise
the dangers that lay ahead of us because of our pride. We should rather be used
by God in small, private, though significant ways.
God will use our small offerings if we give them to him, but
he will despise the prideful vestiges where we want to split the credit.
God can only use us if we seek no glory for ourselves. If we
would be prepared never to be recognised, then we are ready to be used by God.
Suffering teaches us the implicit glory in being used by God.
It’s a glory that should nauseate us if we get any credit in the public domain.
Much suffering derives much growth, and much growth commends
us to being used by God much, in much secrecy.
Being used by God is a glory we cannot ever hope to
understand.
To be used by God is to be called “blessed” in the kingdom of
heaven.
© 2015 Steve
Wickham.
No comments:
Post a Comment