Jeremiah's ministry was not popular. For his trouble he had been thrown into a miry pit, held in stocks, confined to the courtyard and he'd had to endure various other forms of opposition
During his time in the courtyard, God promises Jeremiah that he can call on His God.
No matter where we are and no matter what we are going through, we can call on the name of the Lord. What is never guaranteed is that there won't be trouble and that things will always be easy.
The vision that Jeremiah is given in the verses that follow is not an easy or comforting vision at the outset. It describes the devastation of the Babylonian invasion, but it also describes God's long term plan to restore Jerusalem and to bring the Messiah.
The bottom line is this:
Wherever we are, we can always call on the Lord.
He will speak His truth to us.
This will not always be comfortable, but it is always true.
Always it is about bringing us to readiness for the Messiah.
Many say that "Jer 33:3" is "God's telephone number." One should be careful not to take it out of context - if we dial this number to hear what _we_ _want_ to hear, we are heading for disappointment.
However, the promise is true - if we sincerely call on the Lord, He will prepare us for whatever is coming and even if trouble is on the immediate horizon, there is always the hope of His plan of salvation in the long term.
---
--------------------------
Theo Groeneveld theo@gracepresby.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
