There is something endearing about the instant before a small creature makes a big announcement. Beside the brass bell, the rabbit extends a paw as though the quiet cottage garden is about to hear from him. That poised little gesture carries the playful suspense of a call waiting to be made.
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)
These words come to Jeremiah while he is confined and Jerusalem faces devastation. God invites him to call out, then speaks of restoration beyond the destruction surrounding him. The promise enters a situation in which the future looks severely limited by what can presently be seen.
The bell offers a simple image for the act of calling. Prayer gives us a way to bring our uncertainty before God, including the questions we cannot resolve for ourselves. The passage does not make prayer a mechanism for obtaining whatever outcome we prefer; its hope rests in God’s knowledge and purposes beyond Jeremiah’s immediate circumstances.
We may begin with very few words and very little certainty. Lord, help us turn toward you with what we do not understand, and remain open to the wisdom and hope we have yet to see.