Alan Fong
3 min read
Alan Fong
3 min read
Alan Fong
3 min read
Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: ~Jeremiah 32:17
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you could not solve the problem, or there was no one available to help you solve it? If you have, you might have said, “This is too hard to deal with.” Something that is too hard sounds like it is unsolvable, too difficult, and maybe impossible. Jeremiah made a profound statement about God’s power and ability. He said, “There is nothing too hard for thee.” This morning, let us be encouraged by the fact that there is nothing too hard for the Lord.
Jeremiah was shut up in the court of the prison. He had been black-marked by King Zedekiah for prophesying the overthrow of Jerusalem and the Jews by the Babylonians. Jeremiah was despised and hated by the king, the princes, and the false prophets. Being shut up in prison meant that his freedom was taken away and that there was no way out. Being in that setting creates a sense of insecurity about oneself. Jeremiah spent days in discouragement wondering if he would ever be let out. Maybe you are in a situation where you feel “shut up” and trapped with no way out.
The Jews had suffered death by famine, pestilence, and the sword. A number of them were taken as captives and prisoners of war. Those who were taken into captivity would live in Babylon for seventy years. Basically, an entire generation of Jews would not return to see their homeland again. The sorrow that they felt was described by the psalmist when he wrote, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept....” Jeremiah was saddened by his plight of the Jews.
God sent Jeremiah a message that he was to do something that sounded strange. He was to buy a field that was in Anathoth. His cousin, Hanameel, came to him to exercise his right of redemption to buy this field. He was to make this purchase in full view of witnesses and give the evidence of his purchase. What a strange request. He was buying very distressed property at a low time in the economy.
Jeremiah did what God told him to do. Jeremiah exercised faith in God’s Word that what he was told to do had an expected end. Jeremiah’s purchase was a picture of the fact that houses, fields, and vineyards would once again be bought and sold in Jerusalem. Jeremiah entered into the agreement with Hanameel in faith because he believed God’s Word about the future. It gave him hope and encouragement. He was persuaded in faith that nothing was too hard for God. At that moment, he was shut up in prison and many of the people had been taken as captives to Babylon. The situation at hand looked impossible to change, but Jeremiah stepped out by faith. Jeremiah confidently proclaimed that nothing was too hard for God!
Oftentimes, we can mistakenly think our situation is too hard for God. There is nothing too hard for the Lord! Don’t allow your faith in God to diminish when you feel shut up by your difficulty. Listen to and obey God’s Word for your life. When God asks you to do the extraordinary, remember that there is nothing too hard for the Lord. Look up, and envision God doing great and mighty things in your life. Too hard? No!
Bible Reading Schedule: Ezekiel 1-4
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