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\u201cWhy has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?\u00a0 Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable?<\/em> \u201cJeremiah 15:18\u00a0 NASB<\/p>\n It is amazing to realize that this is an actual question Jeremiah is asking of the Lord.\u00a0 Can you imagine asking the Lord of all, your creator God, if he is reliable?\u00a0 But that is the place of dejection where the prophet found himself.\u00a0 We may not have ever spoken it out loud, but probably every one of us at one time or another has asked the Lord, \u201cCan I trust you because by all appearances I do not see the Word work in my life\u201d.\u00a0 Some of us may have asked this question in even harsher words because of dejected and hardened hearts.<\/p>\n In this chapter God is telling Jeremiah that punishment is coming to His people because they have disobeyed Him, not believed in Him and as a result, turned from God.\u00a0 By verse 10 we see the prophet Jeremiah feeling sorry for himself. And it\u2019s likely that we have all been there with Jeremiah as well in this life.\u00a0 Then in verse 18 which we see above Jeremiah speaks to God and says how long shall he suffer without healing?\u00a0 He asks God if He will be to Jeremiah a deceptive stream, with unreliable waters for him.\u00a0 Jeremiah wants to know from God will His waters, His goodness and strength, His refreshing promises fail?\u00a0 Are they uncertain promises?<\/p>\n Jeremiah is telling the Lord that he had not seen the promises fulfilled in him (from chapter 1), and he is wondering right now if he can trust God.\u00a0 That is certainly a place of dejection for the prophet.\u00a0 If we are honest with ourselves we have all been at that point in our walk as believers.\u00a0 We have all prayed and not seen the immediate results which then lead us to question whether we can trust the promises of God.\u00a0 But we need to listen to the response the Lord gave to Jeremiah as he asked these questions of God.\u00a0 The Lord\u2019s response comes in the next verse.<\/p>\n \u201cTherefore thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah]: If you return [and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair], then I will give you again a settled place of quiet and safety, and you will be My minister; and if you separate the precious from the vile [cleansing your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning God\u2019s faithfulness], you shall be My mouthpiece. [But do not yield to them.] Let them return to you\u2014not you to [the people].\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Jeremiah 15:19 Amplified Bible<\/p>\n These are still keywords for you and me today when we find ourselves asking the same questions.\u00a0 We are promised that if we give up this tone of distrust and despair He will settle us in a place of quiet and safety.\u00a0 Jesus cannot move through our mistrust and lack of faith.\u00a0 Jeremiah had to return to faith and then God could move and fulfill His promises, the same answer holds true for us today.<\/p>\n J Todd Hostetler<\/p>\n