Fierce

Jeremiah 4 (NIV)

22 "My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good."

23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.

24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.

25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.

26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the LORD, before his fierce anger.

27 This is what the LORD says:
"The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.

28 Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back."

There are many difficult, but necessary moments in our spiritual growth. There are moments when we need to remember the complete nature of the awe-inspiring God that we serve.

He is all-powerful. And He is jealous. There's a reason "thou shalt have no other gods before me," comes first on that list.

Jeremiah's vision of this devastating apocalypse must have been terrifying. His job was to relate this forthcoming destruction to the leaders of Judah. Perhaps at one time his fear of the king would have stopped him from speaking. Having seen this possible future, no human being could now overwhelm his healthy "fear" of God and force his silence.

The people had turned from God. They had lost focus. They had forgotten who and whose they were. This scriptural glimpse into God's anger and frustration should give us pause. No matter how loving the parent, every well-raised child knows the look in its mother's or father's eye that means, "too far."

Even still, God's grace never fails.

"I will not destroy it completely."

The God of jealousy, and love, and anger....and second chances....loves us still today.

There is hope, and opportunity. And a God who is not to be taken lightly.

Prayer: Father God, forgive our brokenness and heal your creation. We thank you for the grace of Christ that spares us, and we seek to be made holy in your redemption.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Tomorrow's Scripture: Psalm 14