I Will...

“I Will...”

Jeremiah 31:25

Jeremiah is my favorite of the Old Testament prophets. He honestly and faithfully stood for righteousness and obedience to God’s Word in a day when both were severely lacking. And even though he was clearly pushed to the breaking point, time and again... Jeremiah remained faithful.

Of course, we’ve all experienced seasons in life when the burdens of life felt overwhelming... times when we were spent... Physically, emotionally, and even spiritually.

And, Jeremiah could certainly relate: His life and ministry was marked by rejection, persecution, and heartbreak. So-much-so, that he’s often referred to as “the weeping prophet.” He grieved over his nation, as he watched God’s People ignore God’s Word; worship other gods; sacrifice their children to those false gods; all while clinging to false theology; installing leaders who failed to honor God... and marching towards the precipice of their own destruction (sounds familiar, right?).

And right in the middle of one of the Bible’s greatest prophecies... as God’s People were literally facing the consequences of their rebellion... we hear these compassionate words of hope: “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

Notice who’s making the promise: it’s God Himself. He does not just point the weary toward refreshment — He says, “I will refresh.” He does not simply tell the faint where satisfaction could be found — He says, “I will satisfy.”

But then, such is the gracious and merciful character of God. We often try to satisfy ourselves with the things of this earth: money, material possessions, relationships, etc. Yet such things (as good as they are) can never satisfy our deepest need.

God alone offers restoration to His people.

The fact is, the Bible never pretends that God’s people are somehow immune from exhaustion.

*David cried, “My soul grows weary with sorrow.” (Psalm 119:28)

*Elijah collapsed beneath a tree, racked with depression... longing to die. (1 Kings 19:4-8)

*Paul confessed that he was burdened beyond strength. (2 Corinthians 1:8)

*Jeremiah prayed to God, lamenting the day he was born... which seems pretty dramatic. (Jeremiah 20:14)

But, even Jesus became weary... and needed to be refreshed (several times in the Biblical narrative He retreated from the crowds to pray and rest).

The Christian life is not lived by pretending we’re strong. It’s lived by admitting we are weak.

That’s one reason the Gospel is such good news. God does not save the strong and arrogant and independent (who insist on their own way). He saves the contrite, the repentant, who humble themselves before Him in their weakness. “He that is humblest is looked upon by the Lord.” (John Owen, Isaiah 66:2). God’s countenance rests upon the weak.

Of course, our culture admires and even celebrates self-sufficiency. We say “toughen up, you slacker” - “when the going gets tough the tough get going” - “suck it up buttercup!” Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and keep moving! The only person you can depend on is yourself! It all sounds good, and noble, and right... but it’s not what God’s Word calls us to.

The Kingdom of God calls us to dependency. The Word of God calls us to cast all our cares and burdens and weaknesses upon the One who cares for us, and loves us... for when we are weak, we find our strength IN Christ! (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

I know I quote it all the time, but we need to hear it over and over again, that we might live it! Remember our chief purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (Westminster)—not to prove our strength, or our abilities what-so-ever! But to faithfully, and humbly, cast our lives upon His grace; His strength. “If God [is] not enough for you,” as Richard Baxter put it, “you will never have enough.”

Chapter 31 of Jeremiah speaks of the restorative and gracious work God promised His people. God says time and again... “I will.”

“I will... make a new covenant.”

“I will... be their God. They shall be my people.”

“I will... forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.”

“I will... refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

The covenant of God’s love depends on God’s faithfulness; not ours. If our salvation was dependent on our strength and faithfulness... where do you think we’d be? (We’d be without hope).

But our hope, our rest and peace, is found in the covenant faithfulness of God. It’s why we treasure the doctrines of grace. We’re totally lost on our own... but God in his mercy, has chosen us by grace, purchased by Christ, and drawn unto Himself... where He keeps us in his faithful and everlasting care.

Grace is much more than how salvation begins! Grace is how salvation continues. We awaken each day entirely dependent upon God’s mercy. And graciously, God’s “mercies are new every morning.” (Lamentations 3:22)

Of course, the Truth of this promise points straight to Jesus, who (as we talked about last Sunday) calls to us, in our weariness and burdens, to, “Come to me, all you who are labored and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Listen: If you’ve heard nothing I’ve said this morning, hear this: the gospel is not a call for the weary to muster up their own strength. It’s an invitation to receive in Christ what we cannot provide for ourselves. For His grace is always sufficient.

Maybe you find yourself on the cusp of burnout today. Maybe your circumstances have drained your strength, or caused you to feel weak in body and spirit. Jeremiah reminds us that our weakness NEVER exhausts God’s grace.

So bring your weariness to Him. Bring your fears, disappointments, burdens, and confusion. Rest not in your own ability to endure, but in the faithfulness of the God who has promised:

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”