Everything was good, until it wasn't.

Good morning,
I pray the day finds you well.

5 Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. (Jeremiah 29:5-6)

I have been ruminating on the words of Jeremiah, which if you know the story are the words of God ever since God touched his mouth when he was young. I actually used these words in an opening thought for a meeting yesterday.

Back in the day the Israelites had heard of trouble to the northeast. They had heard of Nebuchadnezzar and his army. They were just glad that he was far away and didn't affect them.

Everything was good, until it wasn't.

One day Nebuchadnezzar brought his army to Israel, conquered the land and took the Israelites back in captivity to Babylon.

Of course the Israelites were not happy, many said, we have been following God's instructions why has this happened to me?

God through Jeremiah told them, "Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished."

While this may not feel good, nor seem good at all, eventually it will end. You will go home, and life will go on, maybe not like it did before but it will go on.

Some 2,600 years later another group of people heard some rumblings.

They heard of an epidemic half a world away.

While they watched with idle fascination they were just glad it was half a world away.

Everything was good, until it wasn't.

Then one day the epidemic came to them. It crossed an ocean and came to them becoming a pandemic.

And the people said, "What is this, why is it here?"

People started to die and the people said, "He/she didn't do anything wrong why are they dying?"

5 Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. (Jeremiah 29:5-6)

The words of Jeremiah are poignant.

With all the trouble around us it is easy to become a doomsday-er, A chicken little, "The sky is falling." mentality can develop.

While this may not feel good, nor seem good at all, eventually it will end.

My prayer is, "Lord, help me take my eyes off of me and place them on someone else, someone who needs help. Let me live not out of fear or intimidation but out of love, respect and responsibility; let me be loving and honest and help me have the energy to serve."

This too shall end, I wonder what we will look like when it does.

Something to ponder.

Blessings,

Roger