“Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and the one who labors with child, together; a great throng shall return there.” Jeremiah 31:8

Our Inability

I watched a 20-minute video that showed a father caring for his extremely disabled adult son. Day in and day out, this father spent hours getting his son out of bed and ready for another day in a wheelchair. He took him places that made the young man squeal with delight. Wiped the sweat off his face. Took care of all his personal needs.

He did this, knowing his son would never get out of that wheelchair, never improve in condition, never be able to pay it back in any tangible way (not counting the joy it brought the father, of course).

The father would never have considered not loving his son this way. It was his pleasure to see to his needs, to love him in his disability, to give and expect nothing in return.

When God sent his people into captivity in the Book of Jeremiah, He promised to one day bring them safely home to the land of Israel. The Spirit specifically breathed the words proclaiming, not that they would merely return, but that God Himself would bring the weakest back, the least able to travel on their own, those with burdens of children or in the pain of childbirth. He promised to bring back a great throng, but cared for each individually, leaving none behind just because they couldn’t keep up.

He did not leave them to find their way back on their own. What chance would the lame or blind have had? None, but God made provision for them. Next, verse 9 tells us that He would cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they would not stumble. This means they would be blessed and provided for along the journey, and the way He prepared for them would be something they could manage in their current condition.

Why? “For I am a Father to Israel.” This is what good and kind fathers do. This is our Father.

If a person is weak of mind and can’t grasp great theological truths, God still puts His Spirit in them, that they may know Him. If a person is lame or weak in body, missing much of “life” that we take for granted, still He has prepared a place for them and cares for them individually. A throng is approaching the Lord, yet He brings us individually. God shows us His heart by paying special attention to those who are weakest, most burdened, and least able.

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When we find ourselves burdened, sick, lame, blind, or in pain, we can remember this picture of a loving Father making provision for us, making a straight path, and most importantly, powerfully and generously doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. His intention is for us to find our way back to Him, and He Himself will lead us.

Living God, for any who have strayed or even feel banished and alone, in pain, spiritually blind, sick, weak, or heavily burdened, would You take her hand and lead her in a straight path, right back to Your comforting presence. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.