When a severe storm is approaching, what gives us confidence? It is not pretending that the storm is harmless. Rather, it is knowing that we have a strong shelter and that we can depend on it.
Faith works in a similar way. Faith does not require us to pretend that our problems are small. Instead, strong faith comes from knowing that Jehovah is greater than any problem we could face.
Jeremiah certainly needed that kind of faith. Jerusalem was surrounded by the Babylonian army, and its destruction appeared unavoidable. Yet Jehovah directed Jeremiah to buy a field in Anathoth. From a human standpoint, that purchase may have seemed to make little sense. But it represented Jehovah’s promise that homes, fields, and vineyards would one day again be purchased in the land.
After completing that purchase, Jeremiah prayed to Jehovah. In just three verses of that prayer, he reflected on three qualities that can strengthen our faith today: (1) Jehovah’s power, (2) his loyal love, and (3) his perfect sense of justice.
(1) First, Jehovah’s power convinces us that he can help us
If you turn to Jeremiah chapter 32, you can set your bookmark here, as we’ll be coming back to it later. Here in Jeremiah 32:17 we read:
“O Sovereign Lord Jehovah! Look! You made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too wonderful for you.”
Jeremiah did not ignore the danger surrounding Jerusalem. Jeremiah knew that the Babylonian army was powerful—but it was not too powerful for Jehovah.
For the one who created everything, nothing is too difficult or too hard. Consider our sun. Its core has a temperature of about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. Every second, it produces energy equivalent to the explosion of many hundreds of millions of nuclear bombs. Yet the sun is just one star among untold trillions—and some stars are vastly larger than our own sun. Nothing is beyond Jehovah’s power!
Jehovah can also use his power in a personal way. Isaiah 40:29, 31 reminds us that Jehovah gives power to the tired and that those hoping in him can regain strength. He can provide “power beyond what is normal,” enabling his servants to deal with and endure hardships. While he may not always remove the trial, he can give us the strength to endure it faithfully.
So when we face a serious illness, financial pressure, family worries, opposition, or an assignment that seems beyond our ability, let us remember that no problem is too big for the one who created the heavens and the earth.
But knowing that Jehovah has the ability to help raises another question: Does he really want to help? Jeremiah’s prayer answers that too. That brings us to the second quality in Jeremiah’s prayer:
(2) Jehovah’s loyal love assures us that he wants to help us
If you look at the very next scripture, at Jeremiah 32:18, in the first part of that verse we read:
“You are the One showing loyal love to thousands…”
Jehovah does not use his power in a cold or impersonal way. His power is guided by loyal love. Everyone receives Jehovah’s love, but his faithful servants receive his loyal love.
Think of how beautifully these first two qualities fit together. Power without love might frighten us. Love without power might comfort us but might be unable to rescue us. Jehovah possesses both. He has unlimited power to help, and his loyal love moves him to use that power for the good of his servants.
At times, anxiety, guilt, or discouragement may make us feel that Jehovah is reluctant to help us—or that we have become a burden to him. But loyal love is not a passing emotion. Jehovah does not abandon his loyal servants when they are tired, frightened, or struggling. Moved by loyal love, Jehovah embraces his servants with his protective arms.
How can we apply faith like Jeremiah did? When we pray about a problem, we can tell Jehovah not only what has happened but how it is affecting us. We can confidently ask him for the strength to maintain our integrity. And while waiting for the situation to change, we can remind ourselves: “Jehovah is not looking for me to fail. He wants me to succeed.”
Still, we might wonder: “What if the problem involves injustice? What if someone treats us unfairly and seems to get away with it?” That brings us to the third quality in Jeremiah’s prayer.
(3) Jehovah’s justice assures us that he sees and will act
Let us continue reading at Jeremiah 32:19:
“You are great in counsel and mighty in deed, you whose eyes observe all the ways of men, to give to each one according to his ways and according to what he does.”
Notice that Jehovah’s “eyes observe all the ways of men.” Human judges may not know the whole story. Some may be dishonest, and the wicked may appear to escape consequences. But Jehovah never lacks information. He sees every act of injustice, including the injustices that no one else sees.
Jeremiah had personal experience with unfairness. He was ridiculed and mistreated, and he was troubled when he saw wicked people prosper. He openly expressed his frustration to Jehovah. However, he never concluded that Jehovah was unjust.
As Jeremiah later watched Jehovah discipline his rebellious people, his confidence in divine justice must have increased. That is a valuable lesson when dishonest people seem to prosper, when we are ridiculed for our faith, or when we are treated unfairly. We do not need to become consumed by resentment or take matters into our own hands. We can tell Jehovah exactly how we feel, continue doing what is right, and trust his judgment and timing.
An injustice that has gone unnoticed by humans has not gone unseen by Jehovah. And an injustice that has not yet been corrected has not been forgotten.
So now we see that (1) Jehovah has the power to help us, (2) his loyal love means that he wants to help us, and (3) his justice assures us that he sees what is happening and will act at the right time. How might we strengthen these ideas and apply this in our daily lives?
Personal Study and Family Worship
Consider making a personal or family-worship project out of the Buy a Field in Anathoth video, and consider Jeremiah 32:6-8. Here, among other things, you will learn about a sister named Joyce’s “shot in the arm” cards as a very practical way to apply this faith.
Imagine a father and son looking at the beauty of the mountains, perhaps thinking about the power it took to build them up. Time spent meditating on Jehovah’s power, love, and justice will help us draw close to him and put our faith in him when troubling times come our way.
Conclusion
Like that strong shelter in a storm, faith is not something we want to begin building only after a crisis starts. We build it now by regularly reflecting on who Jehovah is, and when the storm comes, we have it to retreat to.
Whatever we face—today or during the great tribulation—nothing is too wonderful for the God who has the power to help us, the loyal love that moves him to help us, and the justice that guarantees he will act.
