Read Jeremiah 15:10-21.
Self-pity is not a particularly attractive attitude,
but an understandable one, given difficult circumstances we may find ourselves
in. The prophet Jeremiah was fairly wallowing in
it as we come to the fifteenth chapter of this book—and can we blame him?
All he has tried to do is to be faithful to God’s call
and proclaim his message. The result was
that people despised him and fought against him on every hand. His sermons not only failed to bring sinners
to their knees, it caused them to seek the man of God’s life! And he was fine with dying. He wished he had never been born. It was that bad.
You may be shocked at that. We want to elevate Bible characters to a legendary
level—making them virtual demi-gods. Reading
Scripture shows us the opposite—that they were real men and women, plagued by
doubts and fears, who knew heartache and pain like all of us—and sometimes much
more than any of us!
The prophet spoke the truth—hard medicine to swallow—and
yet the bitter pill of the call to repentance was an act of great compassion. It was the only hope for the Jews—and they
rejected it. What would remain would be
God’s fire and fury.
Back to the scorned preacher—he was not that way! God knew his heart. He didn’t loathe the Word of God; he loved it—voraciously
devouring its message—and responding joyfully to those wonderful words of
life! He was not ashamed to identify himself
with the name of the LORD. He refused to
sit in the seat of the scornful. The
result was that he was alone, broken-hearted—and becoming bitter.
It was then that he approached a line, none ought to
cross. He accuses God of wrong—that the
Lord had been unfaithful to him. Like the promise of water in the desert, he
came to God and said, “It is only a mirage.”
God answers his man—and calls him to repentance. Jeremiah is headed down a path where he will
join his countrymen in judgment, if he doesn’t turn around. He thinks he has reached the end of his rope
and God informs him that His power is available when Jeremiah’s resources fail. He will not change his circumstances, but He
will enable him to stand in the storm.
God won’t take away the enemy, but He will give the victory.
May God fortify our feeble faith. The enemy is real. The pain is not imaginary. The test is severe—but our God is greater!
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