Have you ever had that sensation of walls closing in about you? A sense of bewilderment or overwhelm of the soul?
Life can take unexpected turns that seem to hold you hostage. That feeling of one step forward and two steps back. And the possibility of scaling the walls of your prison seem destined to failure.
Prison and Proposition
For Jeremiah it was actual prison walls that held him captive. I’m sure bewilderment, doubt and despair often visited his holding cell.
Jerusalem was home to Jeremiah. For the past months the prison in the courtyard had become his dwelling place.
Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonian army. In fact, the army has been camping around the city for close to a year now. Zedekiah, the king of Judah had seized Jeremiah and threw him in prison. Jeremiah’s preaching of God’s message was the reason for his imprisonment.
The outlook was bleak. In fact, God spoke to Jeremiah and verified the stark reality. God told Jeremiah that Jerusalem would fall.
It wasn’t a Hallelujah meeting right there.
However, God had another message for Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s cousin was to come and visit him in prison with an offer of a land deal God told Jeremiah he was to buy the land that was offered.
Wait just a minute!
God has just finished telling Jeremiah that Babylon would conquer Jerusalem. In the next breath, Jeremiah is commanded to buy land that would soon become Babylon’s property through conquest.
Can you imagine the questions that would flood your mind if you were behind Jeremiah’s walls? I know I can relate to Jeremiah as my heart fills with tumultuous questions in my own confining situations.
Trust and Transaction
Jeremiah’s cousin showed up just as God said. Jeremiah accepted the proposition. The contract was signed, money was exchanged, and Jeremiah became owner of a parcel of land occupied by enemy soldiers.
Jeremiah’s land acquisition was an act of faith. A visible action of trust despite the futility of the purchase.
This purchase was a visual reminder of a promised restoration. It was a token act of hope. Although Jerusalem would be destroyed, and 70 years of captivity stretched in front of God’s people it wasn’t the end of the road. A return from captivity was affirmed.
The thing about those acts of trust is often there is no immediate change in our circumstances. Sometimes we just keep doing what we know to do. We keep on in the same set of circumstances, but the difference is our eyes are lifted heavenward in trust and worship.
Surrender and Worship
Look at Jeremiah’s prayer after his land transaction. (Jeremiah 32:16-25) First, he verbalized the Sovereignty and power of God. Then he recognized God’s justice tempered with mercy. Lastly, Jeremiah accepted God’s wisdom and understanding as higher than his own.
As Jeremiah placed his heart in a position of surrender and worship, he was able to scale the walls of doubt that were closing in around him. When Jeremiah’s heart became located at the corner of surrender and worship, God spoke again with a pledge of restoration and hope.
This signpost of hope was affixed by God and declared through Jeremiah. Babylon’s victory over the Israelites did not change God’s purpose. The purpose was and is an intimate relationship with His people.
“…I will bring them again unto this place and I will cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; and I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever…” Jeremiah 32:37-39
Go on and read the next few verses in that chapter. God is looking forward to doing good for his people. His heart rejoices as He looks forward to the everlasting covenant that will be fulfilled in Jesus.
It doesn’t matter what type of walls imprison you, God’s end goal is freedom and restoration. His purpose for you has not been dismantled by your circumstance. In every situation and every hardship God has a plan of growth. A relationship of trust can flourish within the confines of what look like barriers in your life. God is looking forward to doing good for you and in you.
Your Turn to Trust
Is there spiritual land in your life that you need to obtain? Are there prison walls God wants you to scale? What action is God calling you to take as a token of your trust in Him?
God works with us individually and with infinite patience. Your growth will look different than your neighbors. And your husband’s growth will look different than yours.
God spoke to Jeremiah while he was in prison. It was a reminder to take a forward look despite the siege that surrounded him. There was hope for restoration. Jeremiah was to highlight this hope with his actions. This action became the rich soil needed for his soul to flourish despite life’s desolation.
God still speaks today. In your struggle and in your pain, God is still offering hope. He wants you to look forward, highlighting hope for others looking on. It is with the eyes of faith that we see past the circumstances of life to a gracious and loving God.
Prison Proclamation
Jesus, Himself, reminded us of His purpose while He was here on earth. Encapsulated within doing the will of the Father is deliverance for all people.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18 &19
When the walls of circumstance seem to close in reach for the hope of restoration that God promises. God is still releasing captives and healing the brokenhearted. God will not let one hour of your difficulty be wasted when you cling to Him in trust. We go through things so we can grow through things.
Don’t stay a hostage of distrust and confusion. Scale the prison wall of doubt in your life as you position your heart to surrender and worship. Accept the hope God pledges and rest in the fact that hope with God means absolute certainty.
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