Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures
“O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do Thou it for Thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many: we have sinned against Thee.” Jeremiah 14:7
When I was young, the term “backslider” was used to describe a Christian who had “slid back” into his or her old sinful ways. We don’t hear that term much anymore, but the person that it describes has certainly not disappeared from the Christian community. At the time the prophet Jeremiah wrote this passage, Israel was experiencing a dreadful drought. God had withheld rain from their land as a means of drawing them back to Himself. Drought is only one of the many methods that God has at His disposal to send a message to those who refuse to obey Him.
When there is no rain, there are no crops. No crops mean no fruits, vegetables, and grains. No water means that livestock can’t survive, so no meat. Rivers and lakes dry up, and the only water is that which is underground, but wells can dry up, too. No water means no humans can survive either. Those in the know tell us that a human can live a few weeks without food, but only about three days without water and a few minutes without air. It has also been said that a human cannot live at all without hope. Thus when circumstances turn against us in whatever extreme form they may take, we can become desperate.
We are in a desperate situation right now, and when I say “we”, I mean almost the entire world. I heard on the radio today that the coronavirus has invaded 138 countries across the globe. I don’t think anyone saw this COVID-19 coming. There have been pandemics before that have been widespread, but the potential for this one, if not gotten under control, could be devastating. The economy has certainly taken a hit. We have gone from the greatest economy in many years to one that is teetering on the edge of economic calamity in just a really short time. At my part time job, some have already been let go, at least until we hopefully recover, and others are being sent home on a rotating basis. We have cut our operating hours, and business has been light. I work at a gas station/garage so we are considered essential, but without a miracle from our Heavenly Father or a helping hand from the government, we may have to shut down for a time. There is not a lot of profit in only selling gas. It’s kind of ionic, though, gas prices are down, but we are being discouraged from driving anywhere except to the local grocery and drug stores. Funny how it works out that way (not funny ha ha, but funny strange).
I truly believe that the Lord is trying to tell us something. We need to listen for His voice and look for His hand in our circumstances. Our overall society hasn’t been one of model virtue. And that is to put it mildly. God is merciful, and He has given us plenty of opportunities to “right the ship”, so to speak, but many have not taken advantage of His forbearance to recognize that the lives that they are living have not lined up with scripture. Sometimes it takes a very difficult hardship or disaster for an individual to see himself or herself as God sees him or her, a person He loves, whom He has been calling to Himself, but one who is living at a guilty distance from the life that God intended for them to live. Maybe this pandemic will help some see their need for the Lord. From this passage, we see that Israel did have the guts to admit their sin, and that is the first step for anyone who desires forgiveness and wholeness. Physical healing will sustain lives, but spiritual healing will change lives. Remember, the Lord is only a prayer away.