Poor Jeremiah. His words are harsh and very painful to hear, much less speak. Many times in the narrative, Jeremiah pleads with God to find another prophet; the words are too terrible to speak. How could he, a prophet of the Most-High God, tell his community that Israel was no longer the chosen society. Divine favor no longer existed.
There is nothing worse than to feel cold-shouldered by God. Faith is no longer a part of our daily life, and the one in whom we believed turns His face from us. Who will be our deliverer? We are in complete spiritual darkness, and it is so black that we cannot see our hands right before our faces. We find ourselves in the pit of despair. This is our darkest nightmare.
Praise be to God that we can wake up, realizing that our Lord still watches over us. The awful dream is over, and we move down the road, secure in the strength that we are a reconciled people. Our relationship with the Almighty is healthy and vital. We wake up and rediscover the beauty of rejuvenation.
Perhaps the greatest lesson taken from Jeremiah is that the nightmares could be a reality without God’s protection. This absence of light is the fear of the Lord. We must face the world alone. The feeling of abandonment is overpowering, but God’s favor redeems us. Hear the Good News; we are children of the Most-High! The nightmare is over. We continue on our journey to serve the one who led us to the pathway. So, we share the hope that comes from experiencing the darkest of times to embracing the light.
From a Pastor's Point of View 