February 2 – Of course He will

Let them boast in this alone: That they truly know me, and understand that I am the Lord of justice and of righteousness whose love is steadfast; and that I love to be this way.  (Jeremiah 9:24 TLB)

This is the only thing that God allows us to be proud of – that we truly know Him.  There are plenty of verses in the Bible about how our wisdom is foolishness to God, and that boasting in our accomplishments and grand plans are just as foolish.  But knowing God should be what show the world with pride.  This doesn’t translate into acting religiously superior and looking down on those who don’t know as much as we do, which in fact would prove that we didn’t know God at all.  Knowing Him demands a humble heart, among many other things.  

Think about how you identify yourself the most.  What do you want others to know when you walk into a room?  That you’re smart, well-educated, funny, successful or a good person?  That you’re tough, cynical or bored with life?  You could claim to be a believer in Christ and still be projecting any of these things because of what you value most about yourself.  But God says that our pride and joy should be to point others to God.  If we have financial success or bright ideas, happy families or great personalities – they all pale in comparison to the fact that we are saved.  We know the one who loved us so much that He gave us His life, and anything good that we have should be used to honor that.  

For a worldly-minded person, all of that seems a bit degrading.  Being able to look impressive is the only sense of security some people have.  But to forget selfish pride is so freeing.  We can work with people who are undervalued in society, of humble means, and feel love and compassion for them because we know that there is nothing that we have that wasn’t given to us from the God who we have the privilege to know as our Father.  We can also work among people who the world considers powerful and important and be completely at ease because we know that every one of us is on the same level – we all need a Savior.  Under their important sounding résumés are people who have nothing to boast about if they don’t know Him.   We can offer them compassion, because what impresses them doesn’t impress us.   

But the promise that is often overlooked in this verse is that, “I am the Lord of justice and righteousness, whose love is steadfast; and that I love to be this way.”  He loves to be this way – He enjoys seeing justice happen, and He loves being the Lord of justice.  He loves having a steadfast, unchanging, unwavering love.  When we pray and know that He loves to be all these things, faith can be stable and certain.  The feeling of desperation that so often accompanies our prayers will be gone.  We don’t need to promote ourselves or ensure that everyone knows us and treats us right.  Our boast is in Him, and of course He’ll take care of all the rest.