Trust God? But the Wicked Prosper and the Righteous are Often Poor

 Just finished reading a book by Peter Greer and Chris Horst, The Gift of Disillusionment, with many life experiences of leaders who despaired after idealism faded. They also use Jeremiah, the “Weeping Prophet”, who started as a teenager expressing God’s words to a uninterested nation. If anyone had to live in disillusionment for most of his life, it was Jeremiah. Yet he could still express enduring hope when circumstances didn’t meet expectations.

It doesn’t take long to read the words of Jeremiah, or any of the prophets or psalmists, to find this lament: the wicked prosper and the righteous are often poor. This observation is often followed with a general commitment, like “But I will trust in the Lord.”

It’s easy to say, but are we willing to acknowledge the pain of not seeing certain trustworthy aspects in our life with God? On a scale of 1-10, how much do we believe:

• God is punctual, dependable, reliable?
• God is competent and can do what we want Him to do?
• God has integrity (i.e. “walks the talk” and fulfills His promises)?
• God is accepting and approachable, that I can freely admit my weaknesses, failures, doubts with a fear of losing the relationship?
• God readily shares His heart, His desires, His priorities and is consistent in them so that I can rely on His character?

Early on God promises Jeremiah that He will not allow Jeremiah’s foes to overwhelm him, and that he will be delivered. But God doesn’t say, “…delivered from harm…” because Jeremiah experienced beatings, imprisonment and abandonment with the intent that Jeremiah would die. And Jeremiah calls God out on lies: “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas [what’s really happening is] a sword touches the throat.” (4.10) Jeremiah likewise complains, “O LORD, You have deceived me and [I fell for it.]” (20.7) as if to say, “I thought You were going to tell me words of hope, peace, prosperity and not words of destruction, exile and vengeance, which the people don’t want to hear and ridicule me because these things haven’t come to pass yet.” Like Job, Jeremiah then laments, “Cursed be the day I was born!” (20.14) Even in this woe and despair, Jeremiah doesn’t give up. Greer and Horst call him, not the Weeping Prophet, but the Persistent Prophet because his resilience survives. He maintains a deep rooted faith, like a tree planted by a river and bearing fruit (17.8 and Ps. 1.3).

How about us? Do we stop trusting God when our feelings cause us to rate God below a score of 5 on the questions above?