hope, even in captivity

We've all had them.
Days that just seem to start
difficult.

Gravity seems
a stronger force everywhere
you step.
So that you're dropping stuff
here and there
and can't seem to get a grip.

Until that last thing falls,
scatters and makes a mess.
And you lose it altogether.

Those days certainly feel like
captivity.

CAPTIVITY: the state or
period of being held, imprisoned,
enslaved or confined.

Because you just don't feel like
anything is under your control
any longer.
And you want to give up hope.

I'm with you!
I have them too.

But I have to constantly remind myself
that I'm not bound to that mindset.
Because I serve a God of hope,
full of mercy and grace.

And He longs for us to live,
not as a captives,
but as a free sons and
daughters of the King.

Long ago, in Israel,
men and women lived
who KNEW real captivity.

For they were certainly being taken
by enemy forces.
And Jeremiah prophesied of it.

But even in the midst of it,
he praised God.
Even in the midst of it,
he tells us that God is mighty and great.

And God even made him a deal.
Jeremiah, from prison, tells us
that even while he was prophesying
of the coming of the Babylonians
to take over, he was going to be offered
land to purchase from his uncle.
Land within Judah.

And God wanted Jeremiah
to bargain for the land
and secure the deed.

I know...
what an odd thing to include
in the middle of all this prophecy.

But it has meaning...
for it gives hope!

You see, God wanted him to know
that there was something
to which he would return.

God was making him a promise.
that even in the midst of trouble,
while he was in prison
for doing the will of God,
and even while the country
that he loved was being surrounded
and under siege by enemy forces,
there was a hopeful outcome
in his future.

There was this deed
to a piece of land to which
he would one day return.

For God had not only told him
to prophesy of the captivity,
but also that He would restore
those faithful to Him.

And this land was the deed
to that promise for Jeremiah.

So from prison, he prayed...
I prayed to the Lord, saying:
‘Ah, Lord God! Behold,
You have made the heavens and
the earth by Your great power
and outstretched arm.
There is nothing too hard for You.

You show lovingkindness
to thousands, and repay the iniquity
of the fathers into the bosom of
their children after them...
the Great, the Mighty God,
whose name is the Lord of hosts.
You are great in counsel and mighty in work,
for Your eyes are open
to all the ways of the sons of men,
to give everyone according to his ways
and according to the fruit of his doings.
Jeremiah 32:16-19 NKJV

And as Jeremiah remained faithful to God
others were watching...
because that's what people do.

And God wanted Jeremiah
to be a faithful witness
of HOPE,
even in the captivity...
even to those watching.

And You have said to me, O Lord God,
“Buy the field for money,
and take witnesses”!
yet the city has been given
into the hand of the Chaldeans.’”
Then the word of the Lord came
to Jeremiah, saying,
“Behold, I am the Lord,
the God of all flesh.
Is there anything too hard for Me?
Jeremiah 32:26-27

Even in those days of captivity,
when God told Jeremiah to buy the land
he told him to take witnesses.

Because he wanted more than just one
to have this hope.

He wanted word to spread
that there was a land to which
they could, and would come back.

So how does this apply to us?
What about those days we feel captive...
where nothing is going quite right
and gravity is pulling us down.

Can those also be days
when we will speak out loud
like Jeremiah,
of God's praises.

Can those be days
when we will pray to God,
not only with requests,
but listening to what He wants of us.

For maybe He has something for us
that will give hope in the middle?
And maybe there will be witnesses
who need also to see the hope we find?

It may not be for you to buy a piece of land.
Gosh, for me, I hope not.
That stack of papers you have sign...
Ugh, just too big!

But seriously,
we serve a God of hope.
He lives on the inside of us.

Even in the days when we feel
CAPTIVE.

So let us not waiver.
Let us not sink down in the heaviness.
​
But rather,
let us praise, pray and purpose
to HOPE in the Lord...
and bring witnesses.

Word of God
train me, today...
To not get stuck in my captivity,
but trust in the hope You have for me.
To know that nothing is too hard for You!