In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. – Jeremiah 19:7

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 19, 2020): Jeremiah 19

Some unknown poet once remarked that “God will wreck your plans when He sees that your plans are about to wreck you.” I have had push back from people who insisted that this is not the way God works. He comes to save you and not wreck you. Yet, I am pretty sure that most of us realize what it is like to be wrecked by God.

For me, the wrecking comes in waves. Even the current COVID-19 pandemic has an element of this wrecking of God. No, I do not believe that that the pandemic has anything to do with God’s vengeance on us for our disobedience. But if we had been obedient, maybe it would be a little easier for us right now.

For instance, if we had ruled over our money instead of letting it rule over us, maybe this time of isolation wouldn’t have proven so devastating to us. Godly financial advisors have long been instructing us that we should have a cash reserve of three to six months of income set aside for emergencies. Could you imagine what life might have been like during this economic shutdown if we and our governments had followed their advice? It would still have been a painful time to live through, but not near the level of panic that we see right now. And if this time brings correction, then maybe it will have a positive effect on our lives.

God is about to wreck the plans Judah and Jerusalem. The truth is that they had resisted bringing God’s light into the world. They had made plans that not only did not include God, but that had brought them to the brink of disaster. And at this moment, God had a choice. He could hold back the tides of the calamity once more, something that he had done many times before, or he could let Judah and Jerusalem fall, in the hope that that the wrecking of the nation would pave the way for a better Judah and a healthier Jerusalem. There was no doubt that what was coming was going to be a shock to the people. But sometimes, in our arrogance, we refuse to learn without the trauma.

And later, after the fall of Jerusalem and the exile of the best and the brightest of the nation, Jeremiah would write a letter to those living in exile in Babylon which would contain these words; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

Our plans often lead us toward disaster, but God’s plan leads us toward hope. And what more could we want?

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 20