107 Jeremiah 20 The Man of God's Choosing
JMD Devotional 107 Jeremiah 20 The Man of God’s Choosing
(Note: this is all in the same chapter, watch the swings…)
(Jeremiah, after he has been incarcerated, beaten, and bound in stocks, displays extreme courage challenging his tormentor to his face):
4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; they will fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he will carry them captive to Babylon and will slay them with the sword.
(Then, in a moment of reflection, he doubts himself, his mission, and God…)
7 [But Jeremiah said] O Lord, You have persuaded and deceived me, and I was persuaded and deceived; You are stronger than I am and You have prevailed. I am a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I must cry out and complain; I shout, Violence and destruction! For the word of the Lord has become to me a reproach and a derision and has brought me insult all day long.
(Though he’d rather shut up and crawl under a rock, the Word of God percolates in his heart and mind until he can’t contain himself. He speaks more bold truth that undoubtedly incites the wrath of his enemies…)
9 If I say, I will not make mention of [the Lord] or speak any more in His name, in my mind and heart it is as if there were a burning fire shut up in my bones. And I am weary of enduring and holding it in; I cannot [contain it any longer].
(He feels sorry for himself. Life is unfair! It is O.K. to admit this. God IS asking a lot out of him…)
10 For I have heard many whispering and defaming, [There is] terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him! Say all my familiar friends, they who watch for my fall, Perhaps he will be persuaded and deceived; then we will prevail against him, and we will get our revenge on him.
(Once he ‘exhales’ his angst, he is able to inhale inspiration and faith: God will straighten things out!)
11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty and terrible One; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not overcome [me]. They will be utterly put to shame, for they will not deal wisely or prosper [in their schemes]; their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
(Jeremiah regains his Kingdom perspective, giving peace and hope…)
12 But, O Lord of hosts, You Who try the righteous, Who see the heart and the mind, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You have I revealed and committed my cause. Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the poor and needy from the hands of evildoers.
(Weary from it all, Jeremiah drops back into self-loathing, dark depression and negativity…)
14 Cursed be the day on which I was born! Let not the day on which my mother bore me be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought the tidings to my father, saying, A son is born to you!--making him very glad. And let that man be like the cities which the Lord overthrew, and did not relent. Let him hear the [war] cry in the morning and the shouting of alarm at noon, Because he did not slay me in the womb, so that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb always great. Why did I come out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed in shame?
Would you choose this man for an important mission? How would we psycho-analyze this prophet of God? Manic-depressive (bi-polar), imbalanced? He was HUMAN! God did not reject him through his ups and downs, his thrashing about, his complaints and misery. God didn’t minimize his suffering. He was not excluded due to his infirmities and his ministry was not invalidated by his doubts and struggles. He was the right tool for the job God had for him; no one else in all creation could fill his shoes. The same goes for you and me. Don’t be so hard on yourself when your weakness and humanity show through; God made even this a part of your unique makeup according to His will.
Dear God,
I don’t know why my limitations, weakness and deficits are integral parts of my being; but I do know that you have tempered every member of my body so that no one part glories above the rest. You have made me for a purpose, warts and all; my idiosyncrasies, my square corners, my sharp edges and tender spots are somehow all a part of your design. In my immaturity I beat myself up for every shortcoming, every failure, every weakness; but You are gentle with the spirit while being severe with the flesh. Help me to accept myself, my calling, my finiteness as the being You have carefully crafted for a purpose that no one else can fulfill. Quiet my striving as I embrace your will for my life. There is only room for one God.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
(Note: this is all in the same chapter, watch the swings…)
(Jeremiah, after he has been incarcerated, beaten, and bound in stocks, displays extreme courage challenging his tormentor to his face):
4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; they will fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he will carry them captive to Babylon and will slay them with the sword.
(Then, in a moment of reflection, he doubts himself, his mission, and God…)
7 [But Jeremiah said] O Lord, You have persuaded and deceived me, and I was persuaded and deceived; You are stronger than I am and You have prevailed. I am a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I must cry out and complain; I shout, Violence and destruction! For the word of the Lord has become to me a reproach and a derision and has brought me insult all day long.
(Though he’d rather shut up and crawl under a rock, the Word of God percolates in his heart and mind until he can’t contain himself. He speaks more bold truth that undoubtedly incites the wrath of his enemies…)
9 If I say, I will not make mention of [the Lord] or speak any more in His name, in my mind and heart it is as if there were a burning fire shut up in my bones. And I am weary of enduring and holding it in; I cannot [contain it any longer].
(He feels sorry for himself. Life is unfair! It is O.K. to admit this. God IS asking a lot out of him…)
10 For I have heard many whispering and defaming, [There is] terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him! Say all my familiar friends, they who watch for my fall, Perhaps he will be persuaded and deceived; then we will prevail against him, and we will get our revenge on him.
(Once he ‘exhales’ his angst, he is able to inhale inspiration and faith: God will straighten things out!)
11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty and terrible One; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not overcome [me]. They will be utterly put to shame, for they will not deal wisely or prosper [in their schemes]; their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
(Jeremiah regains his Kingdom perspective, giving peace and hope…)
12 But, O Lord of hosts, You Who try the righteous, Who see the heart and the mind, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You have I revealed and committed my cause. Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the poor and needy from the hands of evildoers.
(Weary from it all, Jeremiah drops back into self-loathing, dark depression and negativity…)
14 Cursed be the day on which I was born! Let not the day on which my mother bore me be blessed! Cursed be the man who brought the tidings to my father, saying, A son is born to you!--making him very glad. And let that man be like the cities which the Lord overthrew, and did not relent. Let him hear the [war] cry in the morning and the shouting of alarm at noon, Because he did not slay me in the womb, so that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb always great. Why did I come out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed in shame?
Would you choose this man for an important mission? How would we psycho-analyze this prophet of God? Manic-depressive (bi-polar), imbalanced? He was HUMAN! God did not reject him through his ups and downs, his thrashing about, his complaints and misery. God didn’t minimize his suffering. He was not excluded due to his infirmities and his ministry was not invalidated by his doubts and struggles. He was the right tool for the job God had for him; no one else in all creation could fill his shoes. The same goes for you and me. Don’t be so hard on yourself when your weakness and humanity show through; God made even this a part of your unique makeup according to His will.
Dear God,
I don’t know why my limitations, weakness and deficits are integral parts of my being; but I do know that you have tempered every member of my body so that no one part glories above the rest. You have made me for a purpose, warts and all; my idiosyncrasies, my square corners, my sharp edges and tender spots are somehow all a part of your design. In my immaturity I beat myself up for every shortcoming, every failure, every weakness; but You are gentle with the spirit while being severe with the flesh. Help me to accept myself, my calling, my finiteness as the being You have carefully crafted for a purpose that no one else can fulfill. Quiet my striving as I embrace your will for my life. There is only room for one God.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 6:36 PM
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