June 15, 2001
To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed so they cannot hear.
The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.
But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in.
Jeremiah 6:10-11
Jeremiah was in a frustrating and difficult situation. Charged with preaching a message to people who didn't believe him, a people who refused to hear what he had to say he endured their ridicule and scorn all his life BUT he never stopped... he could not hold the message in, he continued to preach as God asked him to and he didn't let it destroy or devastate him personally. I see in Jeremiah an understanding of God that I can so often miss... God doesn't call us to be successful, he calls us to be faithful. We can't change people and God doesn't put that pressure on us, a lot of times that's my expectation, I can be down or discouraged when things aren't working, people don't seem to be changing or responding. God very simply wants me to be faithful in going after what he's put before me... to love him with all my heart, soul, mind & strength, to make my relationship with him the best it can be, to love people, to share my faith, to deal with myself and my sin as it comes up... everything else it outside of my control. When this is my focus I'm so much more at peace with whatever is going on around me.