Glory in this

But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.  – Jeremiah 9v24

Jeremiah is what you might call a prophet of doom. He writes about the worst time in Judah’s history. Their sin and wickedness has brought them to the point where the nation is about to be destroyed. Things were rotten and there was little for God’s people to glory in.

That sounds like today for many of us. It seems like we are fighting a losing battle. Our societies are becoming more and more wicked. Stuff that wasn’t even spoken of a few years ago is everyday news today. Pure evil is all around us. The world seems to have all the power and resources and strength and it seems that we are just spinning our wheels.

That is not much to glory in.

But Jeremiah writes that there is something for us to glory in. We understand and know God. We know that He exercises lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness and that is what He delights in. We can glory in the fact that no matter what else changes, those things don’t.

Paul uses this passage to focus our thoughts when we feel like we are getting nowhere and that we are too weak and feeble to do anything about all that is going on.

‘For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is written, "He who glories let him glory in the Lord."

I don’t have much to glory in Lord – thank you that I can glory in You!