Jeremiah 26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
How Can You Solve a Problem?
Can you think of anything worse than beginning your day with a dentist appointment? No one relishes the appointment that is necessary to see a dentist, especially for a toothache. When you have a toothache, no one likes the pain, but the pain is the messenger to point out the problem, namely corruption-cavities. It would be a mistake to ignore the pain, and it would be a mistake to think that pain is a problem. Pain is simply a messenger.
That is the lesson that God’s people learned when they rebelled against God. They thought there was no problem. When God sent a messenger to tell them about their sin, they thought that God’s messenger was the problem. God’s messenger wasn’t the problem. God’s messenger was the one sent to put his finger on the problem so they could have hope and help.
In Jeremiah 26:13 Jeremiah says that these rebellious Israelites thought that he was the problem for bringing up their sin. Jeremiah basically says, “You are the problem. Change your ways and there will be hope.”
Now three lessons we can learn from Jeremiah’s words. The first is: You can never solve a problem until you acknowledge that it is. When God sent judgment the problem was not judgment. Judgment just pointed to the problem which was rebellion. That’s why God occasionally sends people into our lives to warn us of what is wrong and encourage us in what is right.
The second lesson is: You can never solve a problem until you acknowledge what it is. These people wanted to blame everyone but themselves. They wanted to blame Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah, even God. But what Jeremiah essentially was saying is, “You mend your ways. You are the ones who need to change.” When we’re willing to acknowledge that the problem lies with self, then there’s hope and help.
The third lesson we can learn from this is: You can never solve a problem until you acknowledge Who can change it. The beginning of good news is an acknowledgement of the problem so that we can turn to the One Who can solve the problem. In verses 12 and 15, Jeremiah tells God’s people that God is the One Who sent him, and God is the One Who is willing to help the humble.
The only one that is beyond hope is the one who rejects help. No matter how far we’ve gone or how bad we’ve been, if we will acknowledge that there is a problem, what the problem is, and the One who can make it right then with a heart of submission to Him there is health, healing, and hope. God loves us enough that He sends people into our lives to tell us when things are wrong and to help us do what is right. A wise person will accept these gladly.