應當仰望神（耶十二）中英bilingual

耶和華啊，我與你爭辯的時候，你顯為義；但有一件，我還要與你理論：惡人的道路為何亨通呢？大行詭詐的為何得安逸呢？你栽培了他們，他們也扎了根，長大，而且結果。他們的口是與你相近，心卻與你遠離。（耶 12：1-2） 

從耶利米書十一章18-23讀到，先知耶利米從神得知，他家鄉的祭司設計謀害他，耶利米不明白神為何容許這般的謀害，然而耶利米知道神是公義且智慧的，所以憑信求問神。神未直接解釋，而是以「如果你在平地上賽跑都疲倦，怎能跟馬賽跑？」來反問，意即這僅是考驗的開端，耶利米將來遇到的挑戰要比現在更困難、艱鉅；耶利米受迫來尋神，卻得到將要受更大患難的預言。 

你們所遇見的試探，無非是人所能受的。神是信實的，必不叫你們受試探過於所能受的；在受試探的時候，總要給你們開一條出路，叫你們能忍受得住。（林前 10：13） 

神給我們「開一條出路」！當遇到困難時，諸如病痛、工作不順利、家人生病，我們覺得很痛苦、難以承受，可藉由此節經文得到安慰，因神不會給我們無法承受的重擔，必定為我們開一條新道路；其實我們時常心裡軟弱，埋怨黑夜漫長？很難看出擺在前頭的路為何，就像耶利米遭受不公義，看到惡人卻享受亨通，大行詭詐的人得安逸，為此義憤詢問神，反被告知未來還有更艱難的事，若我們是耶利米，我們期待什麼？ 

至於我，我的腳幾乎失閃；我的腳險些滑跌。（詩 73：2） 詩人亞薩在看見惡人興旺時，內心也幾乎跌倒。亞薩的轉折點在於「直到我進了神的聖所，思想他們的結局」（參詩 73：17）。信心不是要求神立刻改變環境，而是求神改變我們的視角，讓我們專注那遭受不公義的事或面臨的病痛，改成轉眼仰望神，仰望「天上的國度」而去重新衡量價值。 

我們常期待神的「出路」，讓我們病得醫治、工作順利、為我們伸張正義、讓惡人遭報。然而，當我們觀察經歷極大苦難的約伯，被賣為奴的約瑟，一直忍耐到最後發現，神給的出路往往不是「環境的瞬間翻轉」，而是對神信心的等待，當我們看不見路時，不知道前途如何時，正是神在檢視我們信心的時刻，環境惡劣，以數算恩典做為仰望天上神的方式，來等待神將賜下的轉機。 

要等候耶和華！當壯膽，堅固你的心！我再說，要等候耶和華！（詩  27：14） 

By柳文雀

真耶穌教會石牌教會、天母教會線上講道

石牌教會https://www.youtube.com/@TJChurchShipai

天母教會https://www.youtube.com/c/TJC_Tianmu/featured

We Should Look to God (Jeremiah 12)

July 9, 2026

“Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead my case with You; yet I would speak with You about matters of justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who deal in treachery live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow, and they bear fruit. You are near to their lips, but far from their heart.” (Jeremiah 12:1–2)

From Jeremiah 11:18–23, we read that the prophet Jeremiah came to know from God that the priests of his hometown were plotting to kill him. Jeremiah could not understand why God would allow such a scheme against him. Yet Jeremiah knew that God was righteous and wise, so he asked God by faith.God did not directly explain the reason to him. Instead, He answered with a question: “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses?” This meant that what Jeremiah was facing was only the beginning of his trials. The challenges he would encounter in the future would be even more difficult and severe. Jeremiah sought God because of persecution, yet what he received was a prophecy that greater suffering was still to come.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you will be able to endure it.”

(1 Corinthians 10:13)

God provides “the way of escape” for us. When we encounter difficulties, such as sickness, struggles at work, or illness in the family, we may feel great pain and think that we can hardly bear it. Yet through this verse, we can receive comfort, knowing that God will not give us a burden beyond what we are able to bear, and that He will surely open a new way for us. In reality, our hearts are often weak. We complain that the night is long, and we find it hard to see what path lies ahead. Jeremiah suffered injustice and saw the wicked prosper, while those who acted deceitfully lived at ease. Because of this, he questioned God with righteous anger, yet he was told that even harder things were still ahead. If we were Jeremiah, what would we have expected from God?

“But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped.” (Psalm 73:2) When Asaph the psalmist saw the prosperity of the wicked, his heart almost stumbled as well. His turning point came when he said, “Until I entered the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end” (see Psalm 73:17). Faith does not mean demanding that God immediately change our circumstances. Rather, it means asking God to change our perspective. Instead of fixing our eyes only on the injustice we suffer or the sickness we face, we turn our eyes to look to God. We look to the heavenly kingdom and re-examine the value of all things from that perspective.

We often expect God’s “way of escape” to mean healing from sickness, success in our work, justice on our behalf, or punishment upon the wicked. However, when we consider Job, who went through extreme suffering, and Joseph, who was sold as a slave, we discover, after enduring to the end, that the way God provides is often not an instant change in circumstances. Instead, it is a waiting in faith before God. When we cannot see the way ahead and do not know what the future holds, that is precisely the moment when God examines our faith. In harsh circumstances, we can count God’s grace as a way of looking up to the God of heaven, and wait for the turning point that He will give.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD.” (Psalm 27:14)

By Wenque Liu