Living FaithfullyНамуна

Suffering Faith  

When Jeremiah was young, God appeared to him and told him that He had predestined him to be a prophet. “Before I formed you in the womb,” God said, “I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5). Jeremiah protested that he was both too young and a poor speaker. Nobody would listen to him. God should find someone else. This response reminds us of Moses, who also protested that he had no speaking ability; but God called him to service anyway. 

Jeremiah was no different from you and me. Made in God’s image, he loved beauty and peace and enjoyed the companionship of others. He did not enjoy bringing God’s message of woe to the people, and he did not like being persecuted by them. His soft heart never hardened under persecution, and he did not become an embittered loner, rejecting human company. Rejection caused him suffering. 

Jeremiah might have given up. He might have become one of the false prophets preaching only “peace and love.” These never said anything that would upset anybody. After all, they said, Isaiah told us to comfort God’s people and speak peace to Jerusalem (Isaiah 40). There are plenty of such preachers today, who say “God loves you just as you are.” 

The Bible’s message is, “God loves you and demands that you change your ways.” Isaiah was being told to comfort the afflicted; Jeremiah was told to afflict the comfortable. Those who groan over sin and wickedness are those who need to be comforted. Those who are at ease in sin and who perpetrate evil need to be afflicted. 

From time to time, God’s people experience affliction from angry sinners. Jeremiah was called “Mr. Terror on Every Side” (Jer. 20:10). The leaders of the city were out to get him. His associates also conspired against him. They hoped he would commit some sin so that they could discredit him. His fellow priests hated him because his faithfulness exposed their unfaithfulness. They had to condemn him in order to keep looking good in the public eye. So it is today. If you stand up for what is right, in the pulpit or on the job, there will be those who attack you.

Coram Deo  

The mass media delights to expose the sins of the ministers of God’s Word. As a Christian, do not be so prone to believe scandalous reports uncritically. Even when such tales turn out to be true, grieve and pray for the persons and ministry involved, resisting the temptation to gloat and gossip.