“Thus says the LORD, “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness” Jeremiah 31:2

What Was I Looking For?

Found – The Hebrew verb masha is used for finding just about anything.  The Israelites found grace, but that wasn’t what they were looking for.  They were looking for a way of escape.  They were fleeing from their pain.  Just like Hagar in Genesis 16, they only knew what they were leaving behind.  They did not know where they were going.  But when they confronted the place of desolation, they found what they needed.

Didn’t the Rolling Stones give us a clue?  “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need.”  The Rolling stones are about as far from serving God as you could imagine, but God’s truth about the universe shows up in odd places.  God is not in the business of giving you what you want.  He gives you what you need – to accomplish what His purposes require.  If you go into the wilderness, be prepared to put aside forever what you want.  Start looking for God to give you what you need in order to serve Him.  Grace meets need, not want.

It’s important to realize that this verse does not tell us that the people who survived the sword had the intention of searching for grace.  What the verse says is that they found grace because God provided it.  Grace came upon them.  It was God’s gift, not their reward for diligently seeking.  Hagar’s story paints the right picture.  Hagar is in the wilderness because she just can’t endure the life that she has.  Hagar runs from her old life and ends up in the place of death.  As far as she is concerned, there is no point in going on.  That’s when God meets her.  She finds unmerited favor, not because she was looking but because she was completely at the end of herself.  And do you know what happens to Hagar after grace arrives?  Does her life become gloriously improved?  Are her circumstances altered for the best?  Is she rescued from abuse and pain?  No.  Grace sends her right back to Sarah.  But with a completely different attitude and a completely different hope.  Grace tells Hagar, “You are serving the Lord in your circumstances for purposes that are going to bring about changes far beyond your lifetime.  So, go back, and trust Me.”

What have you found in your wilderness?  Have you discovered hope?  Have to uncovered purpose?  Are you ready to return to the life of the sword because God says, “Go, serve Me”?