Baruch is a servant of God. He serves the servant of God. He is the scribe that writes down Jeremiah’s messages from God and has served Jeremiah for years. At this point in the story, he’s feeling sorry for himself.

God understands our humanness. He understands our emotions. David talks about how, in his distress and haste, he cried out that the Lord had cut him off. God hadn’t. God delivers David even though David was feeling like that.

There’s a difference between feeling something and acting on it. There’s a difference in questioning what God is up to and why it’s taking so long and feeling that way and using that as an excuse to reject God and choose self over God.

In the Psalms where there is a complaint toward God about all the attacks, there is then a turn, where David makes the choice to worship and trust God anyway. That’s a big difference. That’s still choosing God. That’s choosing God no matter what.

So, while questioning God with frustration and lamenting, “Woe is me,” is never a good choice, God can handle it. He understands. We can’t stay in that place, but we can pass through trying to find our faith footing and our offerings of thanksgiving and praise.

God doesn’t cut Baruch off for his complaints. He promises him his life, but he does have a warning.

God asks Baruch, “Do you seek great things for yourself?” Then God warns Baruch to “seek them not.”

God is going to break down and pluck up. The whole land will experience it, and Baruch is going to experience it along with them. Disaster is coming on everyone, but Baruch’s life will be spared.

God is able to distinguish between His own and the other. There was darkness on the Egyptians and light on the Hebrews. God makes a distinction.

However, the Hebrews had to live through the plagues. They had to experience it all, even if it didn’t touch them in the same way as the others.

We will be affected by the sin of those around us. It’s unavoidable. God tells Baruch not to think he can just have it all while everyone else is losing it all. It doesn’t quite work that way. We are affected by the effects of sin in those around us.

Seek the glory of God. Keep your eyes off yourself. He will watch over you.