Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
Woe is me, my mother, That you have borne me, A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent for interest, Nor have men lent to me for interest. Every one of them curses me. --Jeremiah 15:10
Jeremiah was a persecuted outcast among His own people because of the destruction he foretold as God's prophet. People avoided him like they would avoid calls from a collection agency today. The Lord then encourages him by telling Him that it would be well with the remnant and that he himself would not be turned over to the enemy. He would not, however, relent from bringing judgment on His people nor would He shield Jeremiah from the persecution that came and would come would from his own people.
In response Jeremiah says this:
Remember me and visit me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.In Your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke. Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?--Jeremiah 15:15-18
Remember God had just finished telling Jeremiah that destruction would come...He would not relent. Jeremiah then tells God what is on his heart. He asks God to remember him, protect him, and take vengeance on his enemies. He tells Him that His word was like food to him and that it was the joy and rejoicing of His heart. But in the next sentence he reminds God of how much His people are suffering and how much he is suffering and how difficult a job God had given him. He even says that God is like an unreliable stream...as waters that fail. Uh oh...Jeremiah called the fountain of living waters an unreliable stream. Now I like how Jeremiah did not pretend and just speak the words that he knew he should...he truly did pour out his heart. I was "with" Jeremiah at first...especially when he was talking about how difficult a job God had given him. Jeremiah was, however, God's spokesperson and as such more was required...Here was God's reply...which I was a little shocked at...but God really spoke to my heart through it. After all....we who name the name of Christ are all ambassadors of Christ...we need to represent Him truthfully. Here is God's reply:
Therefore thus says the LORD: “ If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD. “ I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”--Jeremiah 15:19-21
Did you notice what the Lord says in verse 19...I had to look three times...and then make sure I knew who He was talking to. The Lord tells Jeremiah "if you return, then I will bring you back". Wow..God is saying Jeremiah needed to repent! Now in the reread I understood why. Jeremiah was not speaking words of faith...and He was misrepresenting God's character. (My guess is that the meditation of his heart had not been on what is right in the hours before he spoke those words either). God told Jeremiah that He would restore him if he would stop uttering worthless words and begin to utter worthy ones...take out the precious from the vile. (15:19)
Girls, this is such an important lesson for us! What are we meditating on? Do we speak words of faith to one another when we are discouraged...do we think or speak them to ourselves...do we remind ourselves when we get discouraged of who God is and what He has done?? Or do we whine, complain and doubt? Now if you are hearing from your lips words of doubt, whines and complaints, especially in your unguarded moments, the chances are very good that you are not meditating on the right things. Your mind is on yourself rather than God. Look at what Jeremiah said and see where He went wrong. "I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, Nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, For You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?" His words are saying that he thinks he deserves better because of what he has done and what he has been through. He questions God and even tells Him He is unreliable!
So many times I find myself thinking like Jeremiah here. Focusing on what I am not getting instead of being thankful for what I have. Meditating on doubt or whining and complaining against God. When we do that, we don't even have to call the Fountain of living water an unreliable stream because we are already telling Him by our complaining and whining that we can't trust Him. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, as a man thinks so he is and anything that is not from faith is sin.
Our access to His grace is by our faith....when we speak or meditate on words of doubt or when we question God we quench the Spirit and do not walk by faith. Listen to your words and thoughts, girls, in unguarded moments...they will reveal much about your heart. If you are complaining against God...feeling dissatisfaction or perhaps even anger for where He has you and what He has you doing and/or facing, then you need to repent. I know God does not want us to ignore what we are feeling...that would be self-deceit and He Himself tells us the keep our hearts with all diligence. So what do we do...exactly what Jeremiah did...pour our heart out to God...He is not surprised at what we are going to tell Him. Repent, ask God to align our will with His and increase our faith. When we falter, we are to renew our minds with Scripture and remember what He has done for us in the past and the hope we have for the future. God promises us tribulation, but He also tells us that He will be with us and that we are more than conquerors...the battle has already been won and the battle is not ours anyway. His grace is sufficient. His love is perfect. We are to trust Him through it all. I end with some verses in Philippians.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.--Philippians 2:12-18
Love
Mom
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