Walking the Line ~ Jeremiah 32
- Dan Potter
- May 23
- 5 min read
“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ‘Ah, Lord God! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for You.” Jeremiah 32:16-17
“ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me?” Jeremiah 32:26-27
Imagine if the equator that rings this lovely planet were an actual physical line. Imagine a thick black line that circles not just tiny plastic globes, inches in diameter, but one that circles our mighty physical planet, 24,901 miles in diameter. Imagine hiking across the lush green mountains of Colombia in South America and encountering this black equator line as it hugs the peaks and valleys, stretching to the east and west as far as your eyes can peer. Imagine travelling to the far away Maldive Islands off the coast of Sri Lanka in South Asia and finding that same black line dissecting the sandy beach on which you meander, the north and the south of this orb clearly separated. Now as you consider this example, think not of this demarcation line representing simply northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere, but your belief structure of Almighty God in this life. One side being rich in faith that God is all powerful, and nothing is too hard for Him…including every single one of your problems. On the other side of that line is failure of faith, that is, not truly willing to trust that God’s arms are strong enough to handle the problems of your life. And friends, in this life, you must stand on one side of that line. You see, you cannot walk that black line all of your life, you must eventually choose a side, step off that line, and live there. And in the midst of this life’s toil and trouble….to which side will you step?
The Old Testament prophetic book of Jeremiah is gaining a full head of steam by chapter 32. God is done with His warnings of righteous judgement and is dropping his gavel before the unrepentant, hard, idolatrous hearts He continues to encounter. To execute His judgement, God has assembled the brutal warriors of Babylon at the front door of Jerusalem and the siege of the city has begun. And as it ensues, it places Jeremiah in quite the perplexing quagmire. You see, for more than 23 years, Jeremiah as a good and faithful prophet of God, has been preaching that this judgmental siege would occur. Yet when it actually came to pass, Jeremiah’s emotions found themselves running to the extreme in many directions. One on hand, Jeremiah is pleased that the Lord’s Words are true and faithful and everything God said would happen is happening to a T. But on the other hand Jeremiah is forced to witness everything happen just as God said it would happen. He is watching his beloved home, Jerusalem, reduced to rubble and ashes as it is burned before his eyes. He is witnessing his fellow people; his neighbors, his family, and his friends, being murdered, raped, starved to death, or brutally hauled off into Babylonian slavery, possibly to only die in an unknown foreign country. And as Jeremiah processes this staggering emotional burden, he goes where all those that call God their God, and Christ their King, should go…to their knees to cry out to God in heartfelt prayer.
However as Jeremiah cries out to God in his pain-fueled prayer, He starts at a very peculiar place. He does not begin by complaining to God about what he sees. He does not begin by simply telling God what he wants or needs in the situation. He does not start by telling God how he could have done it better. He simply opens His prayer with a faithful admittance of God’s power. He begins by honestly confessing the power God holds in His ability to create and form the heavens and the earth. And in this confessional prayer, Jeremiah is not only stating the obvious to God, he is stating the obvious to his own heart. If you listen carefully you can hear Jeremiah, as he endures this tremendously traumatic situation, telling God through his prayer on which side of that black line of belief he stands. God, I believe in You regardless of what my eyes see or my mind thinks…for nothing is too hard for You.
As we walk through this life, we will constantly encounter trials and tribulations. Some of them are of our own creation, and some simply because of the evil and sin that currently controls this world. But as we do suffer and endure them, that black line of belief is always resting at our feet. And we have a choice in which direction our feet will move. Do we choose to stand on the side of believing that nothing is truly too hard for God? Or will we stand on the other side, ever ready to doubt that God is truly capable?
As you consider the above decision, there are two things that will aid you as you faithfully, no matter the situation, stand on the side of believing that nothing is too hard for God.
1)Really believe it. Sure it sounds cliché, but it all starts here. Do you truly, with all of your heart, believe that nothing is too hard for God? You see, you can say you believe and not believe. You can act like you believe and not believe. You can even tell others you believe and not believe. But ultimately, all that matters, is on which side of that line your heart stands…no matter your pain, no matter what your feel, no matter what the world tells you.
2) Act like you believe it. Again, this sounds cliché, but I so often witness people that claim to believe that nothing is too hard for God, but act very differently in their words, actions, and posture towards God. Their so-called faith relaxes in the throes of battle when it should be flexing its muscles. As the trial or tribulation pushes them too far, they spring into action to help God fix or repair what is happening in their life. Friends, nothing says God is incapable more than us humans rejecting the trials that He places there to test and ultimately grow our faith. And a byproduct of you only acting like you believe, is that it becomes a grand example to all those that are watching your walk with Christ. And as they do watch you closely, which are they seeing? A Christ-follower wholly believing in the power of the one they are following, or believing in themselves. Faith in action requires action.
Picture that black line in your mind again and now think about whatever trial or tribulation is in your path today. Sickness, disease, or cancer, work issues, family problems, addiction, marriage issues, rebellious kids, financial woes, legal battles, fear of your future, or yes, even a struggle with your faith in God. Whatever it may be, you must choose a side of that line to reside. You can’t ride the line of indifference and indecision with God forever; you must choose a side. Either the side that says I truly believe that nothing is too hard for God, or the side that says your life’s situation is simply too hard for God to figure out. Either the side that says I have faith that God will work out my situation for my good if I simply believe in His power, or the side that says if God can’t get it done to my liking and on my timeframe, then it is simply too hard for Him.
Stop walking the line, pick a side, and live it. As for me and my house, nothing is too hard for God.
Blessings ~ Dan
“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14a
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3
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