Eeyore's Hope

A Series on Living in the Wilderness
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Jeremiah 29:1-14

 [In this series, we will be looking at people in the Bible who lived in the wilderness. Not necessarily a wilderness of natural creation, but the metaphorical wilderness of life. In fact, there are times when we all feel like we are living in the wilderness. During those times, it’s important to remember that the Lord is always with you.]

  

Eeyore is my favorite Winnie the Pooh character. He is a rather sad looking donkey with his slumping shoulders, downcast eyes and his tail hanging behind him. All are an
indication of just how bad things really are. 

Here are a few of Eeyore’s classic lines that reflect his “glass is half empty” personality.

 

“It’s not much of a tail, but I’m sort of attached to it.”

 “If it is a good morning, which I doubt.”

 “It’s an awful nice tail, Kanga. Much nicer than the rest of me.”

 

The prophet Jeremiah, actually has some similarities to Eeyore. On the surface, comparing them may seem a little sacrilegious. However, there are certain characteristics that they both share like, “the glass is half-empty” personality.

 

Jeremiah saw himself as incapable of God’s calling. Like Moses, he claimed, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young”. He suffered from feelings of inferiority; even to the point of wishing that he had never been born.

 

Jeremiah not only lived in a wilderness in his own mind, but he also lived in the wilderness of the world around him. The Jews had turned away from God to foreign gods. As a result, the Lord had judged them, and Jeremiah was the Lord’s mouthpiece for that judgment.

 

Eventually, God’s judgment led to the exile of the Jews to Babylon. While there, Jeremiah sent a letter to them, speaking the word of the Lord. It was a letter of reconciliation; of forgiveness; of hope.

 

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. NIV

 

This was not just a message of hope for the Jewish exiles. It is a message of hope for us today who are still living in the wilderness; no matter what the origins of it.

 

Copyright 2021 Joseph B Williams