I've been reading through the Bible every year since 1976. This year I made up my own schedule. Just a simple plan, nothing really well thought-out or directed toward any specific purpose. So I just "happened" to read the end of 1 Chronicles at the same time I was reading near the end of Jeremiah. Saw an interesting contrast by doing that, which I though worth mentioning. David and Jeremiah were both men of God. But how different their lives were because of the situations in which they found themselves! It's why I always say we need to read the whole Bible, not just our favorite parts. That's the only way to get a balanced view of things.
David lived a life that was, for the most part, dedicated to the Lord. For the most part (with a few notable exceptions), David was obedient to God and walked with Him. So at the end of 1 Chronicles, we see his life went from glory to glory. He was blessed. He was always moving forward and upward.
The trajectory of his own life and his peoples' life was consistently positive, toward that which was bigger and better. Things went well. He prospered. He was victorious. He was successful. He reached the end of his life old and full of years, and able to richly provide for the building of the Temple by his son Solomon. Surely he's a picture of God's ideal, a picture of what God desires all of our lives to be like (with the exception of course, of his sinful choices.)
Now Jeremiah was also a man who loved, obeyed, and followed the Lord wholeheartedly. In fact, we don't even have any record of him ever really deviating from God's will for his life. Yet Jeremiah had a hard life, that might not have looked very successful at all. The trajectory of his country and his people was all downhill, not upward at all. He had to tell people things they didn't like, because they weren't obeying God and didn't want God's will.
Because of that, he was not a popular fellow at all. In fact, many hated him. They said he was unpatriotic. He was negative. He only saw the worst in people. He only painted with dark colors. Some even said he was a defector, trying to run to the Babylonians and be on their side, instead of Israel's, instead of his own peoples'. What was wrong with this guy?
The contrast between David and Jeremiah really struck me. Both were men of God who prayed and walked with God. But their situations were drastically different. What they were called to do was so different. The way they interacted with their society was totally different.
One, David, could say God was for him and his people, and could pray for their prosperity. He could say, "Man, if you obey God, everything will go well for you!" The other, Jeremiah, knew God was for him and his people, but not at all pleased with the way they were living at that time. For him, serving God meant being ostracized and ridiculed. It meant things went from bad to worse. One, David, could speak words of favor and promise. The other, Jeremiah, only spoke words of condemnation and threat. Yet both were men of God!
As I pondered these things, I found myself thinking of the situation in my country today. Some churches put billboards on the freeway that say, "God is on your side." Those are the popular churches, the biggest churches. People like to hear such things. They want a gospel that's really good news, that's really positive. For them, God's a good ole boy, a happy, Santa Claus type of figure, always smiling in the heavens, always so happy with everything we do down here.
But I'm not at all confident that such messages are really what God would say to us as a country. I know God is for us, not against. He wants us to walk with Him and be blessed. His will is positive and wonderful. Someday we'll experience the fullness of that.
But at this point in history, I'm afraid too many of us don't really want His will. In fact, I don't think many of our people ever even consider God at all, or think about what He might want. Our "compasses" don't point toward true north anymore. They don't point toward God and what is right. No, most of our "compasses" point only to ourselves. We're on a happiness quest, not a truth quest, as Frank Turek says.
As I pondered, what I asked God for was this: that He would help me serve Him in my generation, whatever that might mean. That I would have the right perception of things, God's perception, and that I would live and speak as He would have me in times like these. That I would see the world as He sees it now and respond correctly in this situation.
You know, that's all we're called to do and be. We're called to obey God and serve Him in our generation. Each of us faces a different situation. Sometimes we may be doing everything right, but instead of that making us prosperous and happy, it could bring us into direct conflict with society. We could be doing everything right, but if society around us is going the wrong way, we will clash with them and face difficult times.
Jeremiah was a man of God, but he had to go down with the ship when Israel was destroyed by the Babylonians. We may have to go down with the ship if America continues in the wrong direction. I don't know, and neither, I guess, does anybody else.
Whatever happens though, I just want to be found doing the will of God. I want to be faithful to follow and to obey in my generation, and be part of His Kingdom here on earth as these last days unfold. How about you?
What's God going to do with America? What's His will right now for us, for our people? Depends on the situation... Depends on how we choose to relate to Him in our generation.