Jeremiah 31:33-34
33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
There are times when I am feeling down, or unsure of what is coming next, that I pick up my old acoustic guitar and start strumming. I don’t have a particular song in mind; I don’t have a purpose; I just start playing chords. The music soothes me. It just feels good to hold that old guitar.
Sometimes it’s just good to know that something is there. Always available, always ready to offer comfort and hope. I find that sense in this passage from Jeremiah. Jeremiah speaks a word of hope for a new day for the people. Knowing that they will no longer need to work and strive to know the Lord, but that the Lord will be within their very being must have been a great comfort to them in a time of uncertainty.
And isn’t that where we find ourselves today on so many levels? Uncertainty about health issues, the economy, work, family, and all the rest cause us to feel adrift. But God offers us a new hope today: we no longer have to work to know the Lord because God knows us—from the inside out. God dwells within our very souls, making us aware of our worth to God and teaching our hearts that we are loved.
God has claimed us through the death and resurrection of the Son, Jesus, and given us an internal knowledge of that identity, so that we can find that comfort and hope. When we are unsure of everything else, we can be sure that the law of love is written on our hearts, and that we belong.
My old guitar makes me feel grounded and secure, like I’m a part of something bigger. And my knowledge of God’s love makes me feel grounded and secure, part of that great cloud of witnesses who know that in God’s new covenant, I am loved.
I pray that for you today.