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When things get bad
I hear the whisperings of many: “Terror on every side! Denounce! let us denounce him!” All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. “Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail, and take our vengeance on him.”
When it rains, it pours. This is an old saying that describe times when things get really, really bad. Not just a little. But a lot. Such is the case for Jeremiah in today’s first reading. Everyone, and I mean everyone is not on his side. Not even his friends. Life is simply bad.
Sometimes when things go poorly, it can lead us to greater faith. But it can also destroy our faith. So how was it Jeremiah responded? Jeremiah remained faithful to God, and remained faithful to the people to whom he was called to preach. Despite how things went for Jeremiah (which was not very well) he could not help but preach the message of God. And despite their threats to him, he could not help but remain loyal to the people he was called to speak to in his mission.
I think the solution to always being able to recognize the presence of God in life, especially when things are bad, is to make sure we seek God in all things. It is to remember that in good times and in bad, God remains present to us. We are never alone.
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion. This is the secret. To know that it is important that God is always with me. Always. Everywhere. Every time.
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