May God protect us from the wisdom of ourselves

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”    Jeremiah 6:16

When you find yourself getting cynical, go back and read the Old Testament book of Jeremiah. He wrote two books, the one that bears his name and the book of Lamentations. During his lifetime things were coming apart at the seams. God told him to prophesy against his own nation, denouncing them for turning their backs on God, informing them that they were going to Babylon in chains.

Literature critics call his writings “jeremiads,” which now means prolonged complaints. Yet Jeremiah was anything but a bitter, cynical old man. He wrote, “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:25-26).

He also wrote, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’ ” (Lamentations 3:22-24).

As did Jeremiah, remind yourself that God, not you, will be the one who metes out punishment for wrongdoing. May God preserve us from the wisdom of ourselves, and the feeling that we are indispensable, and the failure to realize that life will go on without us until God’s purpose has been established in our world and in our lives. Yes, God, help us to see life from your perspective! The view is radically different.