TO DELIVER AN UN-WANTED MESSAGE

In the book of Jeremiah we see the final prophecies that God sent to His precious Judah, a wayward and rebellious children. He told the prophet Jeremiah to go and take warning of the oncoming destruction if the nation did not turn and repent. Jeremiah called out for the nation to turn back to God, while at the same time Jeremiah recognized the inevitability of Judah’s destruction due to its unrepentant idolatry and immorality. Their hearts had become so hard against the truth, that they refused to neither recognize nor see the warnings as real and forthcoming. Instead, they lay blame on Jeremiah...it was just easier that way, for his message fell on deaf ears and it was unwanted.
After the death of the last righteous King Josiah, the nation of Judah had almost completely abandoned God as well as His commands and instructions as to how they were to live. They had strayed so far from God that Jeremiah compared them to a prostitute that abandon her husband and went after other men. That is a pretty strong comparison. God had in the past promised that He would always judge idolatry most severely, and Jeremiah was warning Judah that God’s judgment was at hand. God had delivered Judah from destruction on countless occasions, but His mercy was about to come to an end; by their taking it for granted. Jeremiah recorded the events where King Nebuchadnezzar would conquer Judah, making them subject to him. After further rebellion, God brought Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian armies back to destroy and desolate Judah and Jerusalem.
How sad it is when God’s people so quickly forget God and turn to things that will only bring pain and regret. I can attest to the fact that there have many times in my life as a Christian that I have suffered grief and pain by doing the right thing…for we are not immune to life, but I can promise that the one thing I never have to deal with is regret. As long as I am striving to obey what I know He has ask of me. Yet in my flesh, when I yield to it and choose the opposite of God’s plan for me, there is always regret; and that regret weighs on me far heavier than anything else that I can imagine until I repent and seek forgiveness. Even in this most severe judgment, God promised restoration to Judah, if only they would turn back to God. The Prophet Jeremiah had a most difficult message to deliver. Jeremiah loved Judah, but also trusted that God was good, just, and righteous. We too must obey God, even when it is difficult, recognize God’s will as more important than our own desires, and trust that God, in His infinite wisdom and perfect plan, will bring about the best for His children.
As Jeremiah sought to do the right thing, it seemed as though no one was happy with him. When he rebuked Judah, they thought of him as a trouble maker, one who provoked dispute and conflict within the land and the people. He felt condemned if he did tell the people the truth and he felt condemned if he didn’t. I can assure you that as you walk with God you will find the same discouragement as did Jeremiah, it often goes with the call of being used of God and can often times leave you feeling despondent and pitted against the ones that you are trying to help.
The Lord responded to Jeremiah’s discouragement assuring him that he would care for him in those times of loneliness, misunderstandings and isolation from those that were cursing him for what he was doing. God told Jeremiah that He would rescue and deliver His people from their sin, redeeming them and liberating them from their bondage if they would simply turn back to Him.
While like Jeremiah, you too may face those spiritual dry patches where no matter how much you serve, how much you give and how much you do, you sometimes will succumb to discouragement, and like Jeremiah felt, you too may wonder why it is that the very ones that you are trying to reach with truth appear to be an enemy, having no problems with how they are living or what they are doing. You must remember one thing….your job is not to bring the change, but simply to bring the message, seasoned in love and self humility. We are servants of the Most High, and it is our job to speak the truth in love, but moreover, it is our duty to live out what we are speaking to others!

Hold Fast,
Bren