Jeremiah 33–36 struck me as chapters about God speaking and people deciding what they will do with what He has said.
God reveals. God promises. God warns. God instructs. And then comes our part: Will we ask? Will we believe? Will we obey? Will we remain obedient when it becomes inconvenient? And if something we have built is torn down, will we have the courage to write again?
In a season where I am learning so much about rebuilding, business, marriage, purpose, community and trusting God with what I cannot control, these chapters reminded me that God’s faithfulness is constant, but my response to Him still matters.
Ask God — He Knows What You Don’t
Jeremiah 33:3, 9
“Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.”
Jeremiah received this word while confined, and Jerusalem itself was facing destruction. Yet right in the middle of circumstances that looked hopeless, God invited Jeremiah to ask Him.
God then spoke about restoration so profound that Jerusalem would once again bring Him joy, glory and honour.
I love the contrast. Jeremiah could see destruction. God could see restoration.
Sometimes we are desperately trying to figure out what comes next—in our businesses, marriages, finances, health, ministries or purpose—when God is inviting us to ask Him.
There are things strategy can reveal, and there are things only God knows.
This is particularly meaningful to me while rebuilding different areas of my life. I can make plans, seek counsel, build systems and work diligently, but I don’t want my dependence on strategy to replace my dependence on God.
Before asking, “What should I do?” perhaps the deeper prayer is:
“Lord, what do You know about this that I don’t?”
And I also noticed that God’s restoration wasn’t simply about making His people comfortable. What He did for them would bring Him glory before the nations.
Maybe some of what God rebuilds in our lives is meant to become evidence of His goodness.
God’s Faithfulness Is More Reliable Than Your Circumstances
Jeremiah 33:20–22, 25–26
God uses something incredibly ordinary to explain His extraordinary faithfulness: day and night.
Essentially, He says that if His covenant governing day and night can be broken, then His covenant promises can be broken.
Every sunrise becomes a reminder: God remains faithful.
Israel’s circumstances looked nothing like the promise at the time. Jerusalem was under siege. Judgment was coming. Yet God was already speaking about restoration, mercy and the continuation of His covenant purposes.
This encouraged me because waiting can sometimes make us question what God said.
When the business isn’t growing as quickly as expected, when marriage requires more work than anticipated, when finances are being rebuilt, when prayers seem unanswered or when purpose feels harder than the promise suggested, circumstances can tempt us to reinterpret God’s character.
But God says, essentially: Look at the order I established around you.
Night still gives way to morning.
God’s faithfulness isn’t measured by how quickly my circumstances change.
Repentance Must Produce Lasting Change
Jeremiah 34:4–5, 15–16
God gave King Zedekiah a surprisingly merciful personal promise even while judgment surrounded Judah. But later in the chapter, another issue emerges.
The people had done what was right by releasing their Hebrew slaves. They entered into covenant before God.
Then they changed their minds.
They took back the people they had freed and enslaved them again.
This challenged me because temporary obedience is not transformation.
Sometimes pressure makes us pray differently, promise differently and behave differently. But when the immediate pressure lifts, we return to old patterns.
That can happen everywhere.
We decide to handle money differently after financial difficulty, then abandon the discipline when income improves. We promise to communicate better in marriage, then return to unhealthy patterns. We tell God we will prioritise Him when we’re desperate for direction, then become too busy once opportunities arrive.
God wasn’t merely interested in Judah performing repentance.
He wanted changed lives.
Real repentance doesn’t simply feel sorry. It changes direction and keeps walking in the new direction.
Obedience Doesn’t Need to Make Sense to Everyone Else
Jeremiah 35:5–10, 12–19
The Recabites fascinated me.
Jeremiah placed wine before them, but they refused because their ancestor Jehonadab had instructed their family not to drink wine. They had maintained that instruction across generations.
God wasn’t teaching Judah that everyone should adopt the Recabites’ lifestyle. He used their commitment as a contrast.
If these people could faithfully honour the instruction of their ancestor, why couldn’t Judah obey the God who had spoken to them repeatedly?
The passage made me think about convictions.
There may be things God asks us to do—or not do—that other people don’t understand. There may be boundaries we maintain in business, relationships, leadership, ministry or personal life that appear unnecessary to someone else.
But obedience isn’t determined by what everyone else is permitted to do.
Sometimes maturity looks like being able to say:
“That may be fine for you, but I know what God told me.”
The Recabites had been consistent for generations. Their obedience wasn’t occasional or convenient.
And God noticed.
That encourages me. He sees quiet obedience that nobody applauds.
Hearing God Repeatedly Means We Must Eventually Respond
Jeremiah 35:12–17
God’s rebuke of Judah was painful:
“I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me.”
The issue wasn’t that God had been silent.
The issue was that they had become unwilling to respond.
That made me ask myself: What has God already said that I keep asking Him about?
Sometimes we pray for another confirmation when the real issue isn’t clarity—it is obedience.
Perhaps God has already spoken about forgiving someone, resting, starting, stopping, giving, apologising, creating structure, changing a habit, ending a compromise, taking care of what He has entrusted to us, or returning to something we abandoned.
More revelation isn’t always the answer.
Sometimes the next breakthrough in our spiritual lives is simply doing the last thing God told us to do.
Write It Down — And If Necessary, Write It Again
Jeremiah 36:2–3, 6–7
God instructed Jeremiah to record everything He had spoken over many years.
There was purpose in the documentation: perhaps when the people heard God’s words again, they would repent.
This reminded me that writing can be stewardship.
There is value in documenting what God teaches us—through journals, testimonies, books, articles, videos, messages or even private notes.
We forget.
But what we record today may become the reminder we—or someone else—need tomorrow.
As someone who naturally processes and communicates through writing and storytelling, this passage makes me think differently about documentation. Not everything God teaches us is meant to disappear after the moment passes. Some lessons should be preserved because they may eventually serve someone beyond us.
You Can Burn the Scroll, But You Cannot Cancel God’s Word
Jeremiah 36:24, 26, 28–32
King Jehoiakim heard Jeremiah’s scroll and showed no fear or repentance. He literally cut it apart and burned it.
Then God told Jeremiah:
Write it again.
I think this may be my favourite lesson from these chapters.
Jeremiah had spent time dictating the message. Baruch had written it. The scroll was complete.
Then somebody destroyed it.
God’s response wasn’t, “Well, I suppose that’s over.”
It was: Get another scroll.
And this time, even more was added.
What a picture of rebuilding.
Sometimes something you worked hard to build doesn’t survive. A plan fails. A partnership ends. An opportunity disappears. A business needs restructuring. A relationship enters a difficult season. Something you thought was permanent changes.
The temptation is to believe that because the first version was destroyed, the assignment has been destroyed too.
But Jeremiah 36 reminds me:
Losing the scroll doesn’t mean losing the Word.
If God is still speaking, you can write again.
And sometimes the second scroll contains more than the first.
Practical Takeaways from Jeremiah 33–36
- Ask God before assuming you know what comes next. He sees beyond your present circumstances.
- Use God’s character, not your circumstances, as the foundation of your hope.
- Let repentance become a lifestyle change, not a temporary reaction to pressure.
- Keep your convictions even when other people don’t understand them.
- Review what God has already told you before asking for another word.
- Write down what God is teaching you. Today’s revelation may become tomorrow’s testimony.
- Keep your word. Integrity matters deeply to God.
- If something you’ve built is disrupted, ask God whether He is saying, “Write it again.”
- Don’t confuse resistance with cancellation. People can reject what God has given you without having the authority to cancel His purpose.
- Remember that restoration ultimately points back to God. Let what He rebuilds in your life bring Him glory.
Conclusion: Keep Listening, Keep Obeying, Keep Building
Jeremiah 33–36 leaves me with a simple progression:
Ask. Listen. Trust. Obey. Write. And when necessary, write again.
God’s people experienced consequences because they repeatedly refused His voice. Yet woven throughout these chapters is a God who continues speaking, warning, inviting, promising mercy and revealing restoration.
That is what gives me hope.
We don’t need to have everything figured out.
We need to stay close enough to hear God and surrendered enough to respond.
And when life burns a scroll we thought was finished, perhaps our prayer shouldn’t only be, “God, why did You allow this?”
Maybe we should also ask:
“Lord, are You giving me another scroll?”
Because sometimes starting again isn’t evidence that you missed God.
Sometimes it is obedience to what He is saying now.
Prayer
Father, thank You because You are faithful and Your Word does not fail. Thank You for seeing beyond what I can currently see.
Teach me to ask You instead of depending solely on my own understanding. Give me discernment to recognise Your voice and courage to obey You completely, even when obedience is inconvenient or misunderstood.
Where I have obeyed temporarily but returned to old patterns, please forgive me and help me truly change. Remind me of the instructions You have already given me, and give me grace to follow through.
Help me steward the lessons, ideas, relationships, businesses, responsibilities and assignments You have entrusted to me with integrity.
And Lord, wherever something has been broken, delayed, rejected or seemingly destroyed, show me whether You are asking me to pick up another scroll and write again.
May everything You restore in my life ultimately point people back to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Candid Christian 
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