|
[The prophet Jeremiah said:] O Lord, You have deceived me, and I was deceived; You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, “I will not mention Him, or speak any more in His Name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.” But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You have I committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. (Jeremiah 20:7-13)
These are the words of Jeremiah the prophet, after God sent him to give bad news to the people of Judah. They had rebelled against God, even sacrificing their own children to idols! And so God sent Jeremiah to tell them disaster was coming.
But of course, nobody likes bad news. And so one of the leaders beat up Jeremiah and put him in the stocks overnight as punishment. Just imagine how Jeremiah felt—he said everything God told him to say, and now he was paying for it with pain and public shame. No wonder he’s upset with God!
And Jeremiah is very upset—so angry and heartsick that he imagines what it would be like to just stop being a prophet altogether—to quit God’s service and never say a word again to try to help anybody.
But it won’t work. God’s word burns inside him, and Jeremiah can’t stop himself from warning the people. And even when he’s upset with God, he can’t stop trusting Him or hoping in Him either. He knows that God is with him even in the darkest times, and he trusts God to rescue him.
That gives me hope too. Because there are times in our lives when we suffer for doing the right thing, for simply doing what God wants us to do—and we too are tempted to give up. But God will not give up on us. God came Himself into our broken, ruined world to rescue us at the cost of His own suffering and death. He knows what it’s like. He went through it.
And then He rose from the dead to give us everlasting life, peace, and joy. Evil won’t win in the end. Jesus will. And we will celebrate with Him as His people.
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, when I suffer, be with me and help me to hope in You! Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Have you ever been so upset with God you just wanted to quit following Him?
- If so, what brought you back?
- Jesus understands suffering by His own experience. How can you lean on Him when you are in trouble?
| 
