Confusion in the Christian Life

 

COLERAINE INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 9 FEBRUARY 2025 – MR REUBEN LYONS

JEREMIAH 32

CONFUSION IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

No matter what our background is, what age we may be we can all look back to our school years with fondness. They are full of memories, the time when great friendships were formed. We say they are the best years of our lives. School for others was also a time of stress from exams, acceptance by others. There is one word we can associate with school – confusion. I was not the most academic at school. I did not do well in assessments.  For some learning a foreign language is difficult or even we struggle in the English language a struggle. My biggest struggle was in Maths and in particular Algebra. When will I be using this? No matter how often I looked at the text book or listen to the teacher it didn’t make sense to me all. Fortunately unless my ministry asks for me to look up some Greek and history translations to prepare sermons, I am glad there is no algebra. There can also be great confusion through all the years of our Christian life. The God of the bible is a mysterious God. God works in ways that we cannot fathom, that we cannot seek to understand at times. Isaiah  55 verses 8 and 9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Even though we live in an instant society today we want answers quick and fast, through the bible we can be assured the Lord is doing amazing things of eternal consequence in our lives even though we cannot see it at times. He has a perfect plan for us. Of course there will be times in our  journey of faith we can ask God “what are you doing, why do you not intervene in this hardship in my life, the wicked and sinful are thriving in this world and your children are suffering.” We have all faced moments of confusion, of being worried and being scared, that even though we cannot see it at times God is in control of every single aspect of our lives. That even though we might not see it all the time, even though we cannot see how he is physically working, God is in control. God is at hand That is the truth I want you to understand and find joy in today. In this confusion where many reside is where the prophet Jeremiah found himself. Verse 1 of chapter 32 this was a prophet confined to a prison cell. On the outside of his life everything was over, confusion on how he got there and where he had gone wrong when he served God.  On the inside God was preparing a servant for a great work he could not yet comprehend.

Firstly this confusion can bring hurt to the Christian. The circumstances of our Christian walk can hurt.  Jeremiah’s life and ministry had not just begun in this chapter.  The 31 chapters preceding this one show that a lot had happened in his life. His tragedy seems to be one after another. What were the trials he was facing? In chapter 16 verse 2 Jeremiah was denied the comforts of having a family, of ever taking a wife. In chapter 15 verse 10 we read that he was lonely, he was unable to be encouraged by friends and loved ones. Why? He preached the truth God gave to him. People turned away from him on his own personal life. Something we can relate to in our own day when we share the truth of God in our generation. In verse 2 it is clear he is now in prison in the palace of the king all because he served the king of kings, God almighty. He was locked in under watch and key. If we think we have had it rough over the years, Jeremiah had it worse than anything we have ever gone through. No wonder he was confused at what God was doing and working in his life. He had been obedient to the Lord in spite of the adversity he faced. If you are struggling to remain obedient to God’s call, to share your faith, to let others know of God’s grace be encouraged as there is no written proof over 50 years of Jeremiah’s ministry that even one came to faith and trusted in him. Nothing is written in scripture. If we spend our time solely looking at our earthly circumstances we would be discouraged. Confused at what is going on. Sometimes we may feel as Christians we don’t get it fair enough, it is not fair the hand that we are dealt with in this life. Life in of itself is hard. Many will tell us that even if they are not Christians. As a Christian things seem that much harder. We need to remember Job from last week. A faithful obedient man who revealed Gods own testimony in his life. On the surface his suffering and loss just didn’t seem to be fair. We need to alter our perspective from the earthly to the heavenly.  Our suffering may be excruciating today but there is coming a day of perfection, when we will be united with our Saviour in heaven. On that day there will be clarity. No more confusion, no more darkness surrounding us, no more pain. We will have endless communion with the Lord. It may be hard but the bible encourages us to keep our eyes on the Lord, trust in his plan even when we cannot comprehend what he is doing in our lives.  When understanding is lacking trust should always be found in  him. Our circumstances may hurt. The complications of life can hurt as well. Jeremiah was a faithful preacher, not one who diluted the truth to appease those he was speaking to. He didn’t try to back away or hide his faith in front of his friends in the fear of being ridiculed. He was not one trying to fit in or to try and help a certain group.  He was straight shooting with the truth God gave him to share. The reward  for his obedience was a prison sentence. Had he been put on the shelf because that is all God wanted him to do, that his ministry was now over. Had he done something wrong in his preaching for God? There would have been many questions of confusion racing through his mind. We have all been there. Life sometimes goes at 100 miles an hour, we are busy, we are going here and there achieving success. Everything might be going well but in a turn of a day everything goes wrong – passed up for promotion at work, a tragedy hits our family, bereavement comes, physical pain comes into our lives, those around us distance themselves from us. Even in Christian work we see a certain ministry come to a halt. The complications have come. They come in many different forms come without prior warning. Tragic moments when we think God has forgotten our name moved on to someone else with his plan. Emotions begin to take over. We are human, feeble but we need to find comfort knowing we are not alone in the confusion. Hebrews  tells us he will never leave us nor forsake us. The Lord loves you today he is working in your life today. No matter what we encounter God will remain faithful to his children. Confusion can bring hurt. In the truth of the word we know how to counteract that, to bring comfort into our lives.

This confusion can bring change. Jeremiah is an interesting man to read of in the scriptures. Even though his circumstances confused him he was still committed to doing the Lord’s will any way. God was still working in him. First sign of change and growth in his life was the fellowship and closeness he found with God in that prison cell. He took time to praise God for his greatness and glory and his power that he experienced personally, thanking God for the work he had already done in his life. His circumstances were dire and dark and he may have been in physical pain but he spent time with the Lord. He didn’t waver at what happened to him. The Lord was still everything to him. In the hardest moments of your life you can sink and be defeated or you can float and do nothing or you can swim and achieve safety and victory. What is your life represent – a sinking vessel under the storms of life that you have no hope to cling to? Or are you simply  floating in your life, you know you have the Lord but you are not focusing on him, you are not asking for his help in your life. Or are you swimming confidently, are you achieving safety on dry land, upon the vessel of glory and victory that is Jesus Christ. Jeremiah could have done either of those 3 things. He could have turned from God because of the hardship he was enduring, he could have done nothing and given up the ministry, or he could swim, get closer to the Lord in the midst of his trials. In the moment of confinement we know what we ought to do. Often rather than swimming we sink or we float. We need to be swimming today. There is nothing better thing to do than bowing before the Lord and praying, asking for help, guidance and knowledge. When we turn from our fears, doubts and confusion to the face of almighty God, bowing before him, we are allowed to step out of that reality and into the presence of God. Hebrews 4 verse 16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Prayer is a wonderful gift given to us as Christians. We must use it to seek help from our heavenly Father. We don’t come often enough. We don’t come consistently as we should. As he invites us to come to him for the help we desperately need. He found fellowship with the Lord in the prison cell but he also found confidence in God as well. Chapter 32 verse 17. In reply God affirms this power. He tells his servant he will judge Israel for their sin and rebellion. Jeremiah had confidence in the Lord and the Lord is now speaking to him. The Lord’s reply is found in verses 28 to 36. Not only would there be judgement but hope. A promise that one day God would restore Israel keeping his covenant with them. We see that in the last verse of the chapter. The core truth is the Lord wants us to reach the place where we don’t need to know all the answers. His desire for us is to come to the place to trust wholeheartedly. Even in the face of questions and doubts we don’t need to say “I cannot trust you if you don’t give me the answer to the questions I have.” He wants to trust him no matter the questions we face. The greatest day of the Christian life is being peacefully content. You may not know what he is doing, where he is leading but you are content trusting in his plan for your life. We see example of biblical figures reaching this point of peaceful contentment in scripture. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 verses 9 and 10 “And he said unto me My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak then am I strong.” Have you come to that place of being peacefully content that no matter what is going on around you, you are content in Jesus, no matter what may be asked from you or whatever is ahead? He found fellowship and confidence but Jeremiah also found obedience. Even though hardship was immense he had every reason to turn away and give into man made pressures intention. He remained faithful and obedient to God’s plan for his life. He was asked by God to redeem his people. Many would have failed to understand and laugh. For Jeremiah God had been faithful and now it was his turn to obey and be faithful in return to God. It is easy to serve the Lord when all his commands are straight forward, it is easy to accept in human understanding. It takes true obedience to serve the Lord when we are confusion. It is not easy to follow when the world is mocking us. How hard it is for young people growing up today, seeing friends moving away from the Lord. We see it time and time again. Maybe seen it here in the church, we don’t know where they stand today. We see it in our world today, we see children turn their backs on God and walk away. We were not promised that the Christian life would be an easy life. We have been told to stand up and trust in the faithfulness of God. God is looking for Christians who are in this world and not of it. He is looking for strong people of God, committed to be followers of Christ and taking on this spiritual war they are in the midst of it.  He is looking for his children to obey him, without questioning. To simply trust and love him beyond measure. To trust and have confidence in the Lord. Jeremiah found obedience. This was the sign of his life. Let us have that same obedience as well.

Confusion can bring help. Jeremiah was helped by the power of God. God had the power to declare the future but also the power to bring it to pass. The God of limitless power is still the same God we worship and serve today. He is able to meet our need today. Nothing is unsurmountable today. If you find yourself in a dark valley, God knows the path out when you don’t. Whatever it may be, we need to bring it to him and find God brings you that assurance. He will take care of you and deliver you in his way and time. Jeremiah was also helped by God’s presence. Loneliness would have been a predominant emotion as he was present in prison cell.  He was comforted by God’s presence at all times. It was in this place of loneliness he found company and provision, not physical companionship, not with men around him, not with others in the same situation. It was in the hands of God. These times of confusion can seem daunting, frightening. No matter how close we might be to our family, how deep our friendships may be, it is the Lord we need. He is not one to desert us. We still have the promise of God’s presence. He will never leave us or forsake us. Often it is the things we fear that God uses to move in our lives. He was helped by God’s promises. When he heard the voice of God he was comforted by God’s planning and moving. God promised him all would be well in the end for Jeremiah. Surely this cheered his heart. As we continue to journey with the Lord, we can often find ourselves in prisons of confusion and doubt. We can find comfort in our trials by leaning on the promises of God. No matter the situation comes our way, God is at hand and he can handle it. I wonder are you confused? Do you find yourself asking some of the questions asked in this passage? Is God moving in your life today that you can’t understand? Is he working out some plan you can’t figure out. The message for the Christian from Jeremiah is to trust in the midst of uncertainty, to rest in the safe arms of God who has all things at hand. That not all will be revealed but we have to simply trust and obey. God has been faithful over the years and he will continue to be so. Will you stand and be faithful to God today in every aspect of your life? The message today if you don’t know God personally, if you are outside of Christ, life is hard. Life is excruciating at times but in the son of God who paid the price for your sins. You have the one who loves you, he cares for you more than any other , he wants to rescue you. He is a good God, he is faithful to his own. No matter what we are facing today know we can have confidence in God and the promises he has given to us.