Grace in the wilderness

Jeremiah 31:2 The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness…

The paragraph in which this verse is found has a title in the Bible I am using: "The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy.”  This chapter in Jeremiah talks about how God will restore His people spiritually when they have repented of their sin.  As I thought about that promise of forgiveness and restoration, this phrase “grace in the wilderness” came alive in a new way.  When I repent and receive forgiveness, there are times when God has to give me grace as I live through the consequences of my sin.  That would be a “wilderness” which does not mean my sin has not been forgiven.  For those times of wilderness, God will give the forgiven person grace to help them through the natural consequences of sin that has been committed.  In the following verse (v.4) this truth is affirmed when God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore [notice what He says next!] I have continued my faithfulness to you.”  God, out of love, applies His grace and faithfulness to every repentant sinner!

Some of God's "I Wills"

Jeremiah 33  Top Ten I WILLS of God’s promise of peace to His children

1. I will answer your calls to me, v.3

2. I will heal them, v.6

3. I will restore their good fortune, v.7

4. I will cleanse their guilt, v.8a

5. I will forgive their sin and rebellion, v.8b

6. I will provide good and prosperity, v.8b

7. I will restore the fortunes of the land, v.11b

8. I will fulfill my promises, v.14

9. I will provide a savior, v.15

10. I will have mercy on them, v.26

In the wilderness

Isaiah 40:3 In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Although this verse is usually referred to in terms of John the Baptist’s prophecy about Jesus, this morning as I read it I was really struck by the picture of where the way of the Lord is prepared.  The wilderness is a place of dryness and desolation, or as the dictionary definition says, “a wild and uncultivated region … uninhabited …; a tract of wasteland.”  I was reminded in that picture that God does His “best” work in us when we call to Him out of the middle of our life wildernesses.  When things feel desolate and unbearable is when a person most likely sees that desolation and senses his need for help.  When we recognize our desolation, the way is prepared for the Lord to intervene in our lives and His is able to make His way to us.  Another reminder that I don’t have to have everything in my life “in order” before I can call on God.  It call be a mess, but the way is prepared for God’s intervention.