August 16 (Daily reading: Jeremiah 32-34) [Part Three: You said it; do you believe it?] Jeremiah had prophesied the return from exile. Now, he was asked to literally “put his money where his mouth was.” God told him to buy a field in a town that had been taken by the Babylonians. This was an investment, but only if Jeremiah really believed God when He said, “Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land” (32:15). I remember hearing someone say, “If your faith is not worth investing in, its not worth believing in!”
After the deed was done, Jeremiah prayed, and said, “Nothing is too difficult for You” (32:17), as if he needed to be reassured. He told the Lord that he had done what He asked him to, but added, “although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans” (32:25). God confirmed his actions by confirming what Jeremiah himself had confessed: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” He was the Divine Potter, and His people were like clay in His hands. He who allowed them to be taken into exile as a judgment for their sins also said: “I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety” (32:37).
This kind of faith requires patience and endurance. The “hold on for dear life” kind of faith! Faith that enables you, in the worst of times, to believe God’s promise: “Yet again there will be heard in this place…the voice of joy and the voice of gladness…the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting’” (33:10-11). We must have faith as we answer God’s question: “Is anything too difficult for me?”
– Al Gary
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