Breakthrough Boasting: The Best Thing to Brag About

If ever there is reason for boasting, it’s this . . .

Let not the wise boast in their wisdom, nor the mighty in their strength, nor the rich in their wealth. Whoever boasts must boast in this: that He understands and knows Me. Indeed, I am the Eternal One who acts faithfully and exercises justice and righteousness on earth. These are the things that delight Me.

(Jeremiah 9:23-24, The Voice)

I lived on Nicollet Ave. in a city that’s been ablaze with rage, but I was too tiny to know anything but the security of arms cradling me. Minneapolis, MN was simply home. My birthplace. My nativity.

This morning a candle wafts rich vanilla into my chilly basement and my Bible is open to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s intensity seems fitting for the fractures dividing our country. “There is no cure for my grief,” he writes. “My heart breaks for what I see and hear” (Jeremiah 8:18, The Voice). 

Maybe that’s what you feel too. The heaviness. The defeat. The grief.

We call Jeremiah the weeping prophet for a reason. He “weep[s] bitterly for the mountains of [his] homeland” (Jeremiah 9:10, The Voice). Impassioned, he says he “could weep day and night for [his] poor people”  (Jeremiah 9:1, The Voice). I appreciate his example of honesty–and the assurance that God dialogues with us even when the world feels dark.

Just as in the days of Jeremiah, we are those who “have stubbornly followed after [our] own hearts” (Jeremiah 9:13). There are repercussions to our refusal to welcome God and His ways. Justice unravels and wrongs compound with wrongs and even those surrendered to Christ get caught in the cross-fire.

And like He whispered to Jeremiah, God speaks hope to our broken hearts: “Look, the day is coming when I will set things right with all people” (Jeremiah 9:25, The Voice). 

Breakthrough Boasting

But what do we do between now and then? I find the answer in the verse above God’s always-timely reassurance: “Whoever boasts must boast in this: that He understands and knows Me” (Jeremiah 9:24, The Voice).

Yes, we boast. Not in human wisdom. Not in wealth. Not in our ability to name the not-right. Not in our power to make a difference. (Jeremiah 9:23)

The singular boast-worthy admission is that we know the heart of God.

The God who understands our grief wants to be known. He invites us to share His delight in faithfulness, justice, and righteousness (Jeremiah 9:9). To grasp the patience that we misinterpret as indifference (2 Peter 3:9). 

The less we understand, the more we press into Him. The less we understand, the more we press into Him. 

We bring the heaviness in our hearts to the hands of the One who held the weight of every sin-tainted decision, every unfathomable injustice, every grave question.

As we practice trusting His consistently good heart, we clock time with Him. Like we do with our friends, we invest in the relationship. We show up with authenticity. We seek to understand.

Imagine what breakthrough might happen if we spent less time drawing conclusions and more time drawing close to God? Less time taking sides and more time by His side? 

One Person At A Time

I find it immensely comforting to know God cares about everything that concerns us (1 Peter 5:7). That He draws us closer when we’re in distress (Psalm 34:18.). That He consoles the mourners and shares His kingdom with the “poor in heart” and persecuted-for-His-sake (Matthew 5:2-10).

To God, we are not

the meddlesome or the miserly,

the misunderstood or the mistake-prone,

the irreverent or the religious,

the stubborn or the spirited,

the insincere or the indecent,

the supportive or the excessive,

the laudable or the lackadaisical,

the noisy or the nervous,

the neighborly or the needy.

We are simply loved in full–although we aren’t even partially worthy. We each are immeasurably loved, no matter where we draw our lines or listen to the news.

Perhaps if we were more concerned with understanding God’s stance than categorizing people, we could see individual people who hold immense value in the eyes of God.

What do we know about God’s non-negotiables? For one, He says to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43 NIV). It might take us a lifetime to absorb the depth of love in His admonition. But as we seek to understand what compels God to treat antagonists with immense kindness, we can practice praying for one person at a time. Relaying respect to one person at a time. Honoring one person at a time–especially those who interpret current events through a different lens.

Wholly Accessible

Let’s circle back to the word boasting, because it typically carries a negative connotation. This is not permission to be braggadocios, because arrogance doesn’t align with God’s heart. Instead, this is a plea to seek God. An invitation to confidently adopt God’s lens. 

Essentially, God is saying He is wholly accessible to us. His wisdom is available to us. We don’t have to stay in the dark with our heavy hearts. We can borrow His vision as we navigate complicated waters. We can be alive with hope as we practice loving people like He does.

Let’s pray.

Lord, Your grief-gripped heart understands everything that burdens ours. Help us to seek You. Grow our understanding. Strengthen our trust in You. May we discern what delights You and adopt Your practice of loving individual people, one at a time. And if we boast in anything, may it be solely to lift You higher in praise. In Your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Just a friend over here in your corner,

---

What if you gave your faith the chance to ripple right into your neighborhood? These quick tips provide a wide variety of baby steps to help you begin to build friendships with your neighbors. When we get close to God and let others get close to us, the things God is working out in us can show.

P.S. Prefer the audio? Listen to The Uncommon Normal podcast for the same weekly content! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or listen to the latest episodes right here!