The prophet Jeremiah tempers his warnings and predictions with personal observations that keep me reading through his book. In Jeremiah 9:2, he expressed a thought that I could totally identify with. “Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place for travelers; that I might leave my people and go from them! For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.” NKJV
In a world where we communicate with so many people on a daily basis, I sometimes feel like a stranger. Am I the only one who trusts the Lord, and walks in His ways? Of course not. Perhaps when I feel that way, I am spending too much time on negative messages. If we surround ourselves with Godly people, we can avoid some of the stress. But I understand Jeremiah’s desire to escape to some place where he is himself a stranger. Now and then, it might be refreshing to be in a place where nothing is expected of me, where I can fade into the woodwork for a few days.
My husband and I are planning a trip to the Northwest, landing in Seattle in time to board a cruise ship for an adventure in Alaska and parts of Canada. While there, I pray that I will still remember who I am. I am a child of God, still bound to glorify Him with every new contact, every stranger I encounter. When I come home, I hope to recognize that the people I see and talk to each day are also His children. By keeping that fact in mind, I will not feel the need to escape. Like Jeremiah, I will continue to bring God’s messages to others, to provide hope. Though Jeremiah was not speaking to us directly, we can draw inspiration by his most famous message, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV
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