The prophet Jeremiah worked to bring “the word of the Lord” to Jerusalem. The people were suffering and were complaining about it. Why didn’t God take away their difficult? Jeremiah explained God’s complaint against them: “They walked turned their backs, not their faces, to me.” The remedy God had been applying up until then — sending prophets to correct their ways — did not seem to be working. Major surgery seemed call for to replace their hearts of stone with hearts of love. We too have a difficult time understanding the suffering we must endure. The prophet wants us to understand that God continues to be at work, that God has a plan, and that all things work for good if we trust in the Lord.
