Hidden

Meditation
Jeremiah 36:26—Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD had hidden them.

God told the prophet Jeremiah to take a scroll and write on it. His purpose was to communicate all the disasters He planned to inflict on Israel, Judah and other nations. His concern was that the people of Judah would repent when they heard what He was going to do and receive forgiveness. So Jeremiah dictated God’s words to Baruch, his helper, who wrote them on a scroll. Then, because he was restricted from going to the temple, he sent Baruch to read to the people. Word of the scroll’s contents reached Judean officials and they had Baruch read the scroll to them. Concerned how their evil king would react and afraid of the message, they told Baruch to go and hide with Jeremiah. Then they took the scroll and had it read to King Jehoiakim who instead of repenting burned the scroll and issued the command above.

There are some very significant lessons we can extract from this story. When God asks us to do something, we are not to question the risk of the task; find excuses, modify the command or recommend someone else; or, fear that we might suffer. Our job is to obey God. He is quite capable of using us to deliver the truth and then protecting us from those who react violently. Just as God hid Jeremiah and Baruch, He is capable of hiding us.

Is it possible we waste time worrying what enemies might do to us? Alternatively, do we smugly embrace our eternal inheritance yet ignore the reality that we have a temporal mission? Do we live as undercover Christians hoping to be left alone and unpersecuted?

It may seem like what God asked Jeremiah to do was a waste of time and energy. The king did not fear Him. The people did not repent. What was the point? Here is where we go astray. Quit looking for the point. Listen to God and trust that He knows what He is doing. If He wants to, He can hide us. He may allow us to suffer and perish—many a prophet died a horrific death. Our responsibility is not to worry about our condition but to condition ourselves to obey. Praise God, we will always be hidden under His eternal wings. No one can take what Jesus won for us and that’s something to think about . . . in reveration!

Inspiration
I place no hope in my strength, nor in my works: but all my confidence is in God my protector, who never abandons those who have put all their hope and thought in him.—Francois Rabelais