When have you felt as if everyone were out to get you? Can you identify with Jeremiah's feelings...In this story, Jeremiah was a prophet with a message that people didn't want to hear; "This is what the Lord says:'Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live." The officials proposed to the king that Jeremiah should be put to death, and King Zedekia said "He is in your hands". They took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern of Malkjah. They lowered him by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. But the story doesn't end there...a Cushite official heard that what they had done to Jeremiah and went to the king. He convinced the King that the men had acted wickedly, and that Jeremiah would starve to death in the cistern. The King had second thoughts and told the Cushite to take 30 man and go retrieve Jeremiah.
Jeremiah had good reason to be a weeping prophet (this was his nick-name). Four kings succeeded Josiah, but each of them served as a puppet for a larger empire and each of them gave Jeremiah a hard time. Jeremiah had been beaten, put in stocks, under house arrest, and had his written words burned in his presence.
The mistreatment however, only served to harden Jeremiah's resolve. The events in this chapter take place in Jerusalem, in the midst of a terrible two year siege by the Babylonians. The following chapter (39) tells of Jeremiah's prophecies coming true. Babylons army does breach the walls and then captures and tortures the king. The conquerors treat Jeremiah with respect, however, hearing of his counsel to surrender.
The prophet Jeremiah had a tough life. God used him in a significant way to speak his words of both punishment and hope to the people of Judah, but much of the time Jeremiah struggled with his role. For the most part, people didn't like him. Jeremiah's temperament, sensitive and moody, did not help. At times he complained to God loudly and struggled with his lot in life.
What can we learn from this prophet, who was clearly loved and chosen by God for important work, yet struggled so intensely? God told Jeremiah,
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5
Despite his frequent outbursts, Jeremiah loved God too, and he embraced the truth of the messages he delivered.:
"When your words came, I ate them; they were joy in my heart's delight." - Jeremiah 15:16
Following God faithfully and doing His work won't be easy...It wasn't easy for Jeremiah...it won't be easy for me or you. We may suffer, experience unfair treatment, and feel unpopular. Jesus said that if he himself got such treatment, his followers should expect the same (John 15:20) When we feel discouraged as Jeremiah did, we can be honest with God. We can reveal our questions and voice our complaints. God can handle our true feelings. Maybe God chose Jeremiah, and chooses people today who have sensitive spirits, precisely because he needs those with soft hearts to complete the assignments he is giving.
Yet as we mature in our walk with God, we can hope and pray to reach a place of deepened trust and fulfilment in the place where he has put us. Struggles are never easy, yet as God hears our cries and shares our pain, he can also bring us to a place of oneness with him, where we can rise above the hard times and find God's promises more real than our circumstances.
The most difficult times in my life have produced my character and strengthened my trust in the Lord. Sometimes it feels as if I have been thrown into a muddy cistern somewhere in the desert, where I am simply waiting to die of starvation( those are my emotions)...but God is always moving someone to come and help me, he will send men to "pull me out" just like he sent help for Jeremiah(this is the body of Christ). We need to remember not to base our lives on "feelings" but on the promises of God. As the body of Christ, we need to be encouragers when we see our brothers and sisters wallowing in emotional cisterns, and go quickly to help them climb out.
When we stand up for God and are obedient to his ways, we are not going to be popular. If popularity is what you want out of life, you might as well turn around right now and leave, because choosing Jesus over the world is one of the least "popular" decisions that you will ever make. But life is much more than what other people think...life has more meaning than what millions of people in this world think....life is eternal and we are either going to be "with God" eternally, or "separated from God" eternally. To be with God is heaven. To be separated from God is hell. Where do you want to spend your forever?
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4
No comments:
Post a Comment