Jeremiah 12:11
They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.
Jeremiah 12:11 belongs to the warnings addressed to the Jews. It pictures the land as made desolate and mourning because no one lays its ruined condition to heart.
The desolation is the work of destructive shepherds. Their ravaging leaves the land desolate, and its desolate state grieves God because no one takes its condition to heart. The mourning of the desolate land is directed to Him, unanswered by human concern for its ruin.
For a church, this means pastors who will not confront sin and lead souls to Christ leave their congregation spiritually ruined. Such neglect reproduces the shepherds' destruction, producing a desolation that grieves God while remaining untaken to heart.
For mission, the same desolation appears among the Indigenous people of Guatemala. Widespread illiteracy, a nominal and partly paganized Catholicism, and the lack of Scripture in Indigenous languages mark their spiritual ruin. That condition mourns for lack of any who lay its spiritual darkness to heart, exposing neglect and the failure to grieve and act for their salvation.