relationships (Jeremiah 20:1-18) True Love's Confidence

(Jeremiah 20:1-18) 

When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief overseer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord. 3 Then on the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name the Lord has called you, but rather Magor-missabib. 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to make you a horror to yourself and to all your friends; and while your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will take them away as exiles to Babylon and will kill them with the sword. 5 I will also give all the wealth of this city, all its produce and all its valuable things—even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will hand over to their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have falsely prophesied.’”

7   Lord, You persuaded me and I let myself be persuaded;
     You have overcome me and prevailed.
     I have become a laughingstock all day long;
     Everyone mocks me.
8   For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
     I proclaim violence and destruction,
     Because for me the word of the Lord has resulted 
     In taunting and derision all day long.
9   But if I say, “I will not remember Him
     Nor speak anymore in His name,”
     Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire 
     Shut up in my bones;
     And I am tired of holding it in,
     And I cannot endure it.
10 For I have heard the whispering of many,
     “Terror on every side!
     Denounce him; let’s denounce him!”
     All my trusted friends,
     Watching for my fall, say:
     “Perhaps he will be persuaded, so that we may prevail against him 
     And take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a powerful champion;
     Therefore my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
     They will be put to great shame because they have failed,
     An everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, Lord of armies, who tests the righteous,
     Who sees the mind and the heart;
     Let me see Your vengeance on them,
     For to You I have disclosed my cause.
13 Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!
     For He has saved the soul of the needy one 
     From the hand of evildoers.

14 Cursed be the day when I was born;
     May the day when my mother gave birth to me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news 
     To my father, saying,
     “A boy has been born to you!”
     And made him very happy.
16 But may that man be like the cities 
     Which the Lord overthrew without relenting,
     And may he hear an outcry in the morning
     And an alarm for war at noon;
17 Because he did not kill me before birth,
     So that my mother would have been my grave,
     And her womb forever pregnant.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
     To look at trouble and sorrow,
     So that my days have been spent in shame?

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

In a weak moment, a believer could be persuaded to stray away from God.  But understand that unbelievers do not care about us, they just want to bring us down and have things go their own way.  It helps for us to know and remember that there will be suffering no matter which side we choose.  Rather choose to continue allowing God to persuade us, because God does care for us, very much so.  

While we will suffer for the sake of the gospel, for God to have His way in us is the most excellent thing.  No matter what we are going through or what we will go through, as we continue to draw closer to the Lord in a personal relationship, we will experience His strength, peace and joy.  And as He promises to look after us, since He is just and fair, love, and all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere present, we can be very confident in Him and His plans for us!

Romans 8:28   And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.