Like Jeremiah

https://youtu.be/h2rIJxmHmac

Jeremiah 15:15-18 - “O LORD, You know and understand; Remember me [thoughtfully], take notice of me, take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that for Your sake I endure [continual] rebuke and dishonor. Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit with the group of those who celebrate, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because Your [powerful] hand was upon me, For You had filled me with indignation [at their sin]. Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you indeed be to me like a deceptive brook With water that is unreliable?”

God placed Jeremiah in a tough spot. He had him go around telling the people of Judah that their destruction was coming. And it wasn’t like the prophets before him where they would say something similar and then follow it up with “But, if you repent and turn back to God, His wrath will not come”. Nope. Not this time. God gave chance after chance. Warning after warning. He was done with Judah’s wickedness. Done with their worship of other gods. D-O-N-E. So this time He sent a prophet, in Jeremiah, to warn them of their destruction and to tell them there was no chance of redemption. No chance of changing God’s mind. Being the one to speak those words had to be incredibly hard. Jeremiah still loved his city. His still loved its people. Yet, now he had to tell them, even his own family, God’s wrath was coming and, even worse, watch it happen when the day of destruction finally comes. He was alone. So, it’s no surprise that Jeremiah, in the midst of all that, was feeling a little overwhelmed. That he was feeling the need to remind God that he was doing some really hard things, not being able to mourn with his people nor join in any celebrations of weddings or great accomplishments. Remind God that he has consumed His Word and it has been Jeremiah’s delight and joy. His only delight and joy. Remind God he speaks His difficult and painful truth to then face ridicule, mockery and death threats because of it. Jeremiah just needed God to be aware of what he was enduring for Him. What is interesting, to me, about this passage, this moment, is God’s response.

Jeremiah 15:19 - “Therefore, thus says the LORD [to Jeremiah], “If you repent [and give up this mistaken attitude of despair and self-pity], then I will restore you [to a state of inner peace] So that you may stand before Me [as My obedient representative]; And if you separate the precious from the worthless [examining yourself and cleansing your heart from unwarranted doubt concerning My faithfulness], You will become My spokesman. Let the people turn to you [and learn to value My values]— But you, you must not turn to them [with regard for their idolatry and wickedness].”

I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting that. I expected God to, in some ways, agree with Jeremiah. To acknowledge that, yes, He has put him in an incredibly hard place. To tell him what a good job he has been doing with an impossibly hard task. Instead, God says, “Hey, Jeremiah, I need you to repent”. Wait, what?! Jeremiah is doing what God asked. He speaks every word God says, even if he tries not to, they just burn inside of him so fiercely until he has to say them (20:9). But, Jeremiah needs to repent? Not only repent, but to, also, examine himself and cleanse his heart from unwarranted doubt concerning God’s faithfulness. The VOICE Bible has God saying it this way: “speak worthy words instead of worthless complaints”. It seems harsh. It seems, even, that God is being a little cold. However, if we look back through previous chapters we see where God had already reassured Jeremiah. Multiple times. In fact, He promised Jeremiah protection twice, in Chapter 1 alone, before Jeremiah even uttered one prophecy,

"They will fight against you, but they will not [ultimately] prevail over you, for I am with you [always] to protect you and deliver you," says the Lord”.

God told Jeremiah exactly what his calling was and what was to come. He gave him His Word that He would always be with Jeremiah. That no harm would come to him. Yet, here was Jeremiah telling God all he has endured and asking that He watch over him?

Oh Jeremiah...how I see myself in you. God has told me my calling. He has told me who I am and Whose I am. Shown me what is to come. The battle that has already been won. That is finished. He has given me countless promises that He will, in times of ease and difficulty, be my constant protection. My support. My refuge. My strength. My understanding. My wisdom. Yet, I, like you, feel overwhelmed by the different situations of my life. Allow the hardships to throw me into despair and self pity, spewing words of worthless complaints over the worthy words of God’s promises. I, like you, have lost my “inner peace” because I have chosen to look at my surroundings instead of my Savior. But, I, like you, serve an amazingly merciful and gracious God. A God that keeps His promises regardless of if I keep mine. A God that, instead of shaming or guilting me when I lose sight of all that He has already promised me, will once again lovingly remind me. Remind me of what He told me, like you, in Chapter One of my story. That people and situations will fight against me. That the journey will, at times, be incredibly hard, and some journeys will last longer and won’t have the outcome I imagined, desired or prayed for. BUT, God says, “they (the people, the situations) will not [ultimately] prevail over you, for I am with you [always] to save you and protect you, says the LORD.”

So Jeremiah, I, like you, at times allow unwarranted doubt about God’s faithfulness to cause me to blame God for all that I feel is wrong with my situation and surroundings. But thankfully God, unlike you or me, is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (faithfulness);“ working all things for our good and His glory.