Jeremiah 45:5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not
A few years ago, our truck was stolen when we were on the road in New Mexico. We eventually got our truck back, but everything that was in the truck was gone forever. Now, we were fine, and people were very good to us. We are doing ok, but I lost a few things that really gave me amnesia for the next year or so. One was my sermon file. I am a preacher and I lost all my sermons. Second, I lost my black book, which contains what is on my mind each day and it keeps track retroactively of what I’ve been doing and where I’ve been. I lost my calendar, which told me where I had engagements for the next few years, and I lost my computer. I felt like I’d lost an enormous amount of work and a big part of knowing where I’ve been and where I will be.
Maybe you have that feeling. Maybe you finished a long paper for school, you pushed print, and it disappeared. We all know the feeling of disappointment and loss. That must be very much the way a man named Baruch felt. He was Jeremiah’s secretary. God gave the words, and Jeremiah gave them to Baruch who wrote them down. When they gave such prophecies to a king in Jeremiah 36, the king burned it in a fire. He did not want to hear from God. He resented Jeremiah, and Baruch by extension, giving him that part of the Word of God. I can’t imagine the disappointment.
Sometimes it takes a little bit of work to read Jeremiah. Can you imagine writing it? Baruch had done all this work and it literally went up in smoke. What a great disappointment. He calls it woe, grief, and sorrow. He says, “I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.” He was thoroughly discouraged, maybe close to depressed. All his work was gone. I can sympathize with that and perhaps you can as well. But we have got to learn to deal with disappointment. What should we do and what did Baruch, this good and honorable man, do?
Well, we must consider perspective. You know, any worthwhile work isn’t about you. It is bigger than you. God says to Baruch in Jeremiah 45:4, “Thus shalt thou say unto him [Baruch], The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I had built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.” Now, Baruch had lost some portions of what God had given as far as His Word, but God was dealing with the entire country, His chosen people. God says, “I will pluck up, even this whole land.” He is saying, “You are concerned about one book or part of a book. I’m dealing with an entire land.” In other words, God’s Word had been burned up, but God’s people had wandered from Him.
Ultimately, Baruch was a servant of a servant. Even Nebuchadnezzar is repeatedly called God’s servant in the book of Jeremiah. Certainly Jeremiah was a servant and Baruch was a servant of Jeremiah. He was a servant of a servant. There are bigger fish to fry. God was dealing with the entire land; Baruch was dealing with the disappointment of one part of his work being gone. I believe God knows and cares, but it is important to have perspective.
It is interesting to note that Baruch, it seems, had a brother who was a courtier. He served in the king’s court. He might have been able to help Baruch get a prestigious job, and working with Jeremiah was not exactly the most prestigious thing a man could do at this time. It was not looked on politely or well. So, he had sacrificed all of this potential work and even money to serve with Jeremiah and now he had lost the work. Well, perspective helps with that. Realizing that it is not just about me or you. If you are serving God, you are leaving the results to God. You can do your part and trust God to do what you cannot.
You also need to consider gratitude. In verse 5 God says, “And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.” Even when I’m serving God, in the back of my mind I want to be acknowledged, appreciated, and compensated. That is just human nature. I think we should certainly recognize and show appreciation for other servants of the Lord, but there will be days that no one knows the good you are doing and no one will care if they do know. In fact, they may discourage you from doing it.
In the back of Baruch’s mind, he may have been thinking, “This is a way to be a noble servant of God and to have people appreciate me.” They did not, and God said, “And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto them for a prey unto all places whither thou goest.” Basically, what God is saying is, “Hey, at least you are alive. It could be worse. The temple will be burned, the treasures taken, the people will be killed and taken captive. You are still alive.”
Now, I don’t suggest that as a general strategy when you are dealing with other people to say, “Hey, it could be worse. Why are you complaining about your little problems?” But, God is God and what He said was exactly the truth. He said, “Look, it could be worse. You have much for which to be thankful.” It is helpful when I am living with disappointment just to stop a moment and realize the blessings of God. I’m alive and God has given me a place to serve.
So, how do you deal with disappointment? You deal with it with perspective and specifically with gratitude.