Living in Fear

Jer 42:10 'If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you.
Jer 42:11 'Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are {now} fearing; do not be afraid of him,' declares the LORD, 'for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand.
Jer 42:12 'I will also show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil.

This is a hard thing to hear. God promises blessings, if we stay in the land of promise. But if we flee to 'Egypt' to get away from our problems, our problems will overtake us. So, the blessings will come only when we continue to live in the shadow of fear, in the shadow of the king of Babylon.

He won't touch us though. God's compassion will be poured out through him instead. Its a hard thing to hear. Even harder to follow and live.

It makes sense, I guess. It is the weak things of the earth that God uses. So, living on the edge of disaster, or what I think of as failure, may be where God wants me, because it is here that His greatness can be seen. Sure, put me in a class room, and my greatness will shine. Out here on the edges of everything, there is only God. This is where He can show Himself to be great.

I guess I'm in the right place after all.