An abundance of lasting peace

Call to me and I will answer you.

I will tell you great things beyond the reach of your knowledge. Look! I am bringing the city recovery and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them an abundance of lasting peace. Jeremiah 33:3, 6

So much of the Old Testament in the Bible speaks of the tiny nation of Israel falling into war and being victorious in battle due to the miracles of God. Whenever the people prayed, God answered them, and they were saved from warring enemies. However, then the people would forget the miracles they saw, and they would stop praying. Their complacency led them to be vulnerable again to enemy attacks. Sometimes Israel would lose, and be overtaken by foreign nations. In this passage, the Prophet Jeremiah is speaking to an Israel that was in imminent danger from the Babylonians. In the voice of God, as an oracle, Jeremiah says, “Call to me and I will answer you.” Then the Lord promises, “I will heal them and reveal to them an abundance of lasting peace.” 

This is a great metaphor for what often happens in our modern life. I am sure we can all think back on a time when we cried out to Heaven, asking for something we really wanted or needed. Miraculously our prayer was answered! I remember a time when I was very young, having just completed my freshman year of college. I wanted to go to France for a month with this missionary organization, but the cost was insanely high, and out of reach for me and my family at the time. So, with the help of my church, I gave a small concert that was wrapped into the regular Sunday evening Worship service. I sang favorite inspirational songs, and I talked about the project in France, asking for donations throughout the program. Many people donated. But the real miracle came after the concert. A wealthy congregant offered to financially support the entire amount of the trip, airfare and mission fees in total. All he wanted was for me to sing a private concert in his home for his wife who was gravely ill. Of course, I was beyond happy to oblige! This miraculous donation instantly taught me the power of prayer and the truth that God really does provide for his people. 

But just like the nation of Israel, after a mountain-top experience like that in my youth, I fell into complacency. It is easy enough to do. With the demands of work, family, and running a household, it is easy to fall out of a miracle mindset. Unfortunately, just like the ancient nation of Israel, sometimes we need an approaching “Army of Babylon” to make us remember Heaven and ask for a miracle. What happens when we finally ask for a miracle? God promises, “I will tell you great things beyond the reach of your knowledge.” Stopping to pray will help open our minds to the still small voice of God. He will reveal to us solutions to our problems that maybe we couldn’t see before, when we were just trying to deal with life on our own. 

God promises, “Call to me and I will answer you.” He promises to heal us and reveal to us an abundance of lasting peace. If you are feeling overwhelmed by an “army of demands” this Christmas season, I encourage you to sit in silence for 5 minutes a day. Say “thank you” to God for a few of the blessings in your life that you can think of easily. Then simply ask God, “What would you have me do in this situation?” Then sit in sacred silence. Let the abundant peace of God come to you in prayer.