Jeremiah 9-10

Daily Devotional from Jeremiah 9--

Verse 2
If only I had a traveler’s lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.

Jeremiah had the futile task of urging his fellow Israelites to repent and turn towards God. With none listening, he wished he could just leave them all behind and go live alone in the wilderness.

I think we’ve all felt this way at one point or another.

Other people are difficult to deal with sometimes. The choices they make, the consequences they have to endure, the perceived lack of listening or learning. It often feels like it would be better to live by ourselves with no contact with the outside world. Just get away from all of the people that cause us frustration, anxiety, and pain.

But if COVID has taught us anything, it’s that we long to be around others, to connect. We need people--even when they are frustrating.

Defy escapism. Press into loving others. Press into connection. Press into gathering. We need each other more than we realize.

Robin Miller