Between work, church, school, and home, I’ve been on a lot of projects in my day. Some projects are short enough that the energy remains high, but sometimes a project takes a long time, and I lose the vision of what the goal is. Rather than considering how to help customers, bring glory to God, learn a new skill, or clean up our basement (which still needs to be finished, I’m afraid), I start to focus on the milestones or individual tasks. It’s easy to forget that the ultimate goal is not to haul away old boxes and electronics that I no longer need, but rather to make the basement more organized and not keep things that we don’t need. In the same way, students can fall into the trap of focusing on a test score, without actually learning an important lesson from the material being studied.
In Jeremiah 33, as God promises a restoration for Jerusalem (not right away, but after a while, during which things will get even worse), there is a specific outcome.
Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
Jeremiah 33:9 NIV
https://jeremiah.bible/jeremiah-33-9
(I encourage you to read verses 9-11 for more context.)
Let’s be honest: when we pray for healing or a solution to a problem that no human being can fix, what is our end goal? Do we just seek out an end to the pain or the problem? I am pretty sure that this is what I normally do, so I need reminders like this one: When God blesses Jerusalem again, He will be glorified. In the same way, can I say with certainty that, when God blesses me again, He will be glorified?
In fact, as the Lookout says, “Gentiles would be forced to admit that Israel’s prosperity and peace were God’s doing.” His blessings will result in other nations looking at the holy city and being amazed at what the God of the Israelites is capable of. (Maybe, they will even realize that their so-called gods don’t measure up to the true God – the great “I AM” – and consider following Him, instead. After all, there’s no sense in following a leader who is powerless and leading their followers down the wrong path, when you have an open invitation to follow the God who not only is all-knowing and all-powerful, but also deeply loves you and me.)
So, let me challenge you (as I challenge myself) to pray not only for God’s intervention, but also for Him to be praised, worshiped, and glorified.
Now, to be clear, this is not some sort of trick to get God to answer our prayers (i.e., by promising that we will give Him the credit). Instead, I think that this is about changing our hearts to remember that our purpose in life isn’t to have everything go our way, or merely to live a “life of ease”. Our purpose includes bringing glory to God – our Creator – so His intervention in our lives gives us more opportunities to do exactly that.
In the same way, God’s work in our lives adds to our testimony about Him: sometimes because other people see what He is doing in our lives, and other times when we choose to publicly give Him the credit that He deserves for every good thing in our lives.
Of course, we don’t have to be blessed to glorify God: we can thank Him for being who He is, and we can appreciate His character and His nature. However, God often chooses to provide us with opportunities to glorify Him through His work in our lives.
So, let us remember that our purpose on earth includes glorifying God. That can take a lot of forms, but I suspect that if we focus on that goal, and not the individual things that we do to “check boxes”, the rest of our decisions will become a lot easier. For instance, when getting up to go to church is no longer a “job” (even if you’re a pastor), and is instead a chance to worship God with other followers of Jesus Christ, we have an opportunity to set our sights on the goal, and not the tasks. Let’s seek that goal throughout our lives.
(P.S. – By the way, when you’re not sure what to pray, the proclamation in verse 11 is a good start.)
From Sunday School lesson prepared for July 30, 2023
References:
- The Lookout, July 30, 2023, © 2023 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Jeremiah-Lamentations, by Timothy M. Willis. © 2002 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 