Friday 26 Mar 2021

March 26: Jeremiah 20:7-9
 
Key Verse: Jeremiah 20:9
But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
 
Devotion:
Sometimes, as a Christian, we are called to do something which will upset others – not because God wants us to upset others, but because we have to do what is right! When Jeremiah was called to prophesy things about the future and the land, the priests got very upset when they heard things would not go their way. They were upset things would not longer be in their control but in the hands of someone else!
 
After he was beaten up and clamped in stocks for the night, the priest called Jeremiah to hear him again – expecting that Jeremiah would have changed his story to be more amenable. Instead, Jeremiah told how all of Judah would fall to the Babylonians and they would be taken off into exile to Babylon. Not what they wanted to hear at all!
 
Jeremiah complained to God saying it was not nice to have to tell the people they would be over-run, exiled and be in a horrible place for a while. But even though the words were difficult to say to the priests, Jeremiah said he would not be able to keep them in – he would have to tell the people the truth!
 
God wants us to tell people the truth so they can be prepared for what is ahead and also give them time to think about their lives and hopefully turn to God instead. When we have God’s Word in our hearts, it will burn like a fire and want to expand and be free. It is hard to hold a fire back when there is so much fuel around it. This is the picture Jeremiah is painting for us. Allow God’s word to be spread as quickly as it can be, no matter how much it may cost.
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you get scared when you are called to tell someone about God?
 
Imagine it like a fire and them the fuel – simply give it to them and God will do the rest!