A question I hear a lot, and ask a lot is this: “Why do mean people prosper?” Or, “Why do people of no faith live in such ease?” Why are the banking CEO’s and Wall Street suits making off like bandits with all our money? Where’s God in that? Where’s God when so many people are facing financial ruin? Most of us won’t know the full extent of how much we lost until 4th quarter numbers come out in January on all of our mutual fund statements and IRA’s. By then, the greed of Wall Street will be forgotten, all the money we have loaned the banking system will still be a burden to our kids and grandkids…while all of our retirements will have evaporated into thin air. If I can ever find a real job that pays anything worth while, I won’t be able to retire until at least the age of 75. We are all going to be holding a big bag of shit for a long time. It’s not fair for sure.
Thank God – thank you God – that Jeremiah asked the same questions so long ago; and thank you for your answer. Look at Jeremiah 12. These exact questions are asked flat out. And the answer is a fresh re-framing of the mind. I think of my husband a lot when I read this section – and I read it over and over. My husband is under extreme pressure as the sole provider of our household…it’s crazy. And now with the financial crisis adversely affecting our only hope of a lucrative retirement, he is really worried… and rightfully so. If you have no faith, there probably isn’t much hope. But I believe, and reading Jeremiah confirms, that God will bring His faithful through this valley…and rebuild what was lost even more abundantly than before.
God is the first to tell us that bad things will happen. But believers are expected to be strengthened by adversity…not sit back and say, “hey, what kind of God let’s this happen?” Because the answer is, “a good God.” In Jeremiah, God says, “if you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country how will you manage in the thickets? Your brothers, your own family even they have betrayed you, raising a loud cry against you. Do not fall into the trap of trusting them even when they speak well of you.
What God is saying is that in your profession you will compete, but don’t measure yourself against your competition, your peers - -set your sights higher. In your own personal growth, you will make mistakes, but don’t let them defeat you. Rather, prepare for tougher obstacles, greater temptations. And in your own family, you will be betrayed and rejected, so don’t fall into a trap of kindness. Be a guard of your trust. God goes on to say, I will send the ones I love into the hands of their enemies.
It is a loving act - -breaking you down - - in order to build you up and strengthen you. The chapter of Jeremiah is all about being broken and rebuilt. If we can focus on God, ask Him to walk us through this valley of financial devastation, we will be strengthened by it and not defeated. He will take care of us through it. All of us in the whole country are going through this…will you look to God and come out stronger and more prosperous as a result...or not?
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