He is already there

There’s always one, isn’t there? One who’s on a mission to bring you down. One who’s spreading lies about you. Maybe they’re jealous or a mischief maker or simply bored. Maybe they just don’t like you. But they find a million little ways every day to get under your skin and undermine everything that you are doing.

Shemaiah sends out a letter to all the important figures in Jerusalem, undermining Jeremiah and calling for his arrest. And he claims that this message is from God. Zephaniah the priest reads the letter to Jeremiah.

And God is angry that Shemaiah has prophesied to the people even though He didn’t send Him.

God is angry that Shemaiah has persuaded the people to trust in lies.

God is angry that Shemaiah has preached rebellion against Him.

And when God is angry, God acts.

Everyone is accountable to God for the way they treat other people, including that person who is trying to make your life a misery.

And including you too, remember.

Now that the people are in exile in Babylon, Jeremiah is no longer prophesying doom and gloom. The people are living the doom and gloom. Now he is looking to the light at the end of the tunnel. Now he is prophesying restoration.

God will bring His people back.

He will restore the land to them.

“In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty,
“I will break the yoke off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;
no longer will foreigners enslave them.
Instead, they will serve the Lord their God
and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them.”  Jeremiah 30:8-9

I am with you and will save you…  v11

I am with you – present tense.

I will save you – future tense.

God doesn’t turn up from a distance to deliver and restore. God is already there. God has always been there. So prayer is never about inviting God into a situation, because God was there long before we were. Prayer could instead be seen as opening our eyes to God already at work in our situation.

I will restore you to health.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

I will heal your wounds.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

I will restore your fortunes.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

I will have compassion on your homes.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

The city will be rebuilt from the ruins.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

There will be songs of thanksgiving.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

There will be the sound of rejoicing.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

I will add to your numbers.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

I will bring your honour.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

I will establish the community again.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

A leader will arise from among you.

And in the meantime, I am with you.

You will be my people and I will be your God.

So there are promises for the future and an assurance for everyday. Everything is for a season but in this season – right here, right now, God is there in it with you. God is in every season. Even the awful ones where we feel alone and isolated and abandoned. It’s not about God proving He’s present by answering our prayers and changing the situation. He is present. He can strengthen us in the present. Help us get through each day. It is in the really dark times that we learn to depend more and more on God’s strength, because we have none of our own.

So don’t wait for God to show up. He is already there.