Despite his reputation as the weeping prophet, the book of Jeremiah is full of hope. God promises that we will be His people, and He will be our God! What a promise! But the problem has never been with God, it has always been with us. In Jeremiah chapter two we are told that Israel have committed two sins: they have rejected God and all that He has to offer and they have turned to seek their own satisfaction from that which is of their own creation.

This is original sin – in the Garden of Eden Satan told Eve that she would become independent of God by taking of the forbidden fruit. She would be able to determine her own desires and make her own way in the world – her source of satisfaction would be of her own making, and no longer of God.

Of course, if God is who He claims He is, then this act of seeking to be satisfied in anything or anyone but Him is the greatest sin, the most offensive offence, the grievous hurt. To reduce ourselves to seeking to please ourselves outside of God is the essence of all that went wrong in Eden.

But, Jeremiah is full of hope as God assures us that He will ultimately deal with our sin, and the underlying attitudes that drive it. By His grace and through His Spirit He will draw us to seek our satisfaction in Him alone once again!

“and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord” – Jeremiah 31:14

It’s an incredible promise, given our penchant for turning our backs on Him, but He is faithful:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” – Jeremiah 31:3

This hope is what inspires us to seek Him afresh, by His grace, for His glory, and for our complete and utter satisfaction!