Deal with God as he deals with us

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

Like it or not, what God is doing here is no small deal. I find it epically challenging and comforting, almost too much to take in, to be honest. If I ever go to a theme park, I prefer to avoid the big rollercoasters, but God might be putting Israel onto the biggest one ever as Jeremiah promises the massive physical challenge of exile will turn into the even bigger spiritual and emotional lows of discipline now and heights of salvation to come.

I can imagine why people preferred to listen only to the words of comfort, that nothing substantial would change. How could anyone deal with what Jeremiah was saying?

The impression I get is that God knew that people had put off dealing with him properly for far too long. It’s a lot easier to be comfortable with ideas about God than to get moved by the power of his passion to change the world though, isn’t it? I recognise that.

I was very tempted to concentrate only on the classic, amazing promises of chapter 31, that God “will build you up again… my people will be filled with my bounty… I will turn their mourning into gladness.” But the comfort on its own doesn’t make sense. God is not promising to rescue people from random misfortunes but from his own “fierce anger” which “will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart.”

The point is that God has a powerful purpose to reshape and renew the world. We can hope that this coincides with stuff we want, but God calls us instead to deal with him and be shaped and changed by him too. This is not comfortable, but it’s real, and it’s amazing.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God points to the biggest deal of all in chapter 31 – “a new covenant” for Israel and Judah where “they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” No more barriers? No more hidden ‘holy of holies’? Could everyone gain the wisdom of the teachers and the access of the priests to God directly? We recognise this being fulfilled as Jesus died, the curtain in the temple tore and, soon afterwards, the Spirit filled every believer. God means it when he says he wants us to deal with him, and he gives us access, living in us.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

Spend less time this week remotely thinking about God and more time directly dealing with him in prayer, speaking and listening. I know this will take more time than I often commit. I must confess that I usually want to stay comfortable, but I know God can prefer to shake things up. I feel encouraged from the reminder that God might say to buy land, though!

Who am I going to share this with?

Other people I follow Jesus and pray with, including our online small group.