Lenten Devotion April 7

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April 7 Jeremiah 45:3-4 Using Our Gifts Faithfully  "You said, woe is me.  The Lord has added sorrow to my pain.  I am weary with my groaning and I shall find no rest." These verses refer to Baruch, a young man employed to write and read Jeremiah's prophecies.  Taking on this work would seem to make Baruch a faithful servant of the Lord.  In his time, not unlike our time, there were figures attaining high status, wealth, and great worldly glory.  Certainly taking on this role for God should yield such great things for Baruch, right?  Well, the instant gratification and high status on earth didn't quite come to pass in the time Baruch expected.  In fact, his life on earth probably had become much harder, encountering the dangers inherent in driving change and pushing others outside of their comfort zones.  The world around him was in great turmoil ... not exactly the instant miracle he may have been expecting.  And so we see him here in these verses leaning into some petty grumbling...and looking to leave this difficult work behind. God bestows upon all of us gifts to be used to fulfill His purpose.  We all want God's purpose to be fulfilled.  Yet we often want to have our cake and eat it too.  When we do the work, we want the instant gratification, the fame, the glory.  When the going gets tough, we may want to just walk away.  There are also times where we prefer the comfort of the sidelines, waiting on others to do the work.      I pray that we use our gifts faithfully and without complaint. In doing so, our works and the works of God will become more deeply rooted.   We don't often see the roots growing and so we can easily be discouraged.  I pray that all of us in this churchcommunity realize it is many little thingswhich lead to great things...even when the evidence is not immediately obvious. Andrew DeChristopher

First Presbyterian Church | 883 Highway 34 | Matawan | NJ | 07747