Hopelessness can be contagious

Hopelessness can be contagious. When it seems like the world is caving in all around, people can often share their sadness and anguish with others -- leading them into their own state of hopelessness.

And when a whole group of people are feeling hopeless, coming to them with, "Things are going to get better, I promise." Doesn't necessarily seem like the right thing to do.

The people of Judah were in a hopeless state. After years of bad decisions and turning away from God, their kingdom seemed at an end. Jeremiah had preached for years and years about the doom that was coming to them.

And then things changed. In the Jeremiah reading for this week, (March 27 - April 2, 2006) the sense of gloom and doom isn’t present. The reading is filled with words of forgiveness, new covenant and a clean slate.

God offering forgiveness and restoration doesn't seem like a new concept. But here in Jeremiah, the hope is coming to a people who are still rejecting God. They haven't come to God to beg forgiveness or to say that they promise to change if God only restores their land. The offer comes to a people who are broken, hopeless and still not turning to God.

I love how God continues to restore while people continue to mess up. It doesn’t seem to be a very efficient way to get things done, however

I'm glad God isn't efficient by those standards.

Kirk Moore