Overview of: JeremiahToday's Reading:
Jer. 15:1-6, 15-21
"Judah's Sin and Jeremiah's Pain"
Focus Verses: Jer. 15:18-19, 21
18 Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails? 19 Therefore this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. - - 21 "I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel."
Insight:
The people of Judah were not only unfaithful to God, they were also very cruel to his messengers. Jeremiah suffered persecution and reproach at the hands of those who did not want to hear the message God had sent him to deliver.
Jeremiah cried out to God for help. He was depending on God to save him and bring him through the pain and trouble he was experiencing for his obedience to speak out. God promised to deliver and redeem Jeremiah from their hands if he would be faithful to speak truth and not turn to the ways of the wicked.
Response and Action:
Those who obey and speak out for God may suffer for doing so. God is able to save and sustain his faithful servants. If I experience hardship or persecution for obeying God, I will trust God to deliver me. If there are consequences for speaking the truth and following Jesus, I will put my faith in God's promise to strengthen and save me.
O God, preserve and protect your people. When those who serve and follow you experience hardship for the sake of Christ, sustain them and strengthen them. Help me to be a faithful servant. Give me the courage to do what is right, and to speak the truth in love. Give me a boldness to obey and honor you, no matter what the consequence. Whether by life or by death, may Christ be exalted in me. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Proverb for Today: Prov. 16:19
"Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud."
New Testament for Today: Matthew 5:10-12
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Recommended Reading:
Daughters of Hope: Stories of Witness and Courage in the Face of Persecution
by Kay Marshall Strom
