Are You Ready?

Jeremiah 20:9

⁹ But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name,” then in my heart it is like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am tired of holding it in, and I cannot do that.

Has someone ever come and asked you if you could hold a secret? In an episode of Friends, Chandler and Monica find themselves in love while everyone else is clueless. Somehow, Joey finds out and they make him promise to keep it a secret. He does a good job for a while, but after some time, he spills the beans because Joey cannot hold a secret. He tells them it was burning a hole in his soul.

Jeremiah is in a similar spot, only the Lord is telling him to speak to the Israelites about the coming exile at the hands of the Babylonians. No one wants to hear him or pay any attention to him. The Lord directs him to take a pot, along with some of the elders and priests, and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There, Jeremiah rebukes them openly for the many ways they have turned from the Lord. This is not an uncommon thing for Jeremiah. This time, however, he has a powerful audience. The Lord instructs him to break the pot in front of them and tell them that He will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired (Jeremiah 19:10). He prophesies about the piles of dead bodies that will heap up, along with animals feeding on the carcasses. Afterward, the Lord sends him to Topheth, where he again goes in front of the temple and declares the coming disaster.

Pashhur, the official in charge of the temple of the Lord, hears Jeremiah and has him beaten and put in stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord’s temple. The very next day, he releases Jeremiah. Upon his release, Jeremiah tells Pashhur that he will be taken into exile, where he will die and be buried, along with all those who prophesied lies.

Jeremiah then goes on an 11-verse complaint to the Lord. He starts out with, “You deceived me, Lord…” (Jeremiah 20:7). He says that speaking the word of the Lord has brought him insults and reproach all day long (verse 8). He ends his rant with language similar to Job, saying, “Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” (verse 18).

I think most of us can sympathize with Jeremiah. He is called to be a prophet of God, and from the start, all he ever gets is shame and rejection from his own countrymen. Here, he even gets put in stocks in front of the temple for speaking the words of the Lord. No one ever said following the Lord was easy, right? Billy Graham once said, “Giving your life to Christ won’t cost you anything; it is following the Lord that will cost you everything.”

Jeremiah was called, and verse 9 tells us something about what happens when you surrender everything to the Lord. It says, “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.” Even under all the pressure, Jeremiah still understood the cost of following the Lord. He did not take the easy way out, nor did he hold back anything. He declares in verse 11, “But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.”

Following Christ is not a ride on a merry-go-round. It is not an occasional trip into the funhouse to see how crazy things can get and then leave, either. No, it is a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, who died for your sins on the cross. He gave it all so that we could have it all. He tells us in Matthew 11:12, “And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.”

Today, make a choice to go all in for Christ. Too many of today’s sermons are powder-puff messages that give us a false view of reality. The truth is that Satan cannot stand the spreading of the gospel. He will forcibly try to stop it at all costs. The question is: Are you willing to forcibly advance the gospel to a dying and hurting world, plagued and lied to by Satan, or will you bow out?

Jeremiah chose to go with God even under extreme conditions. I pray you never get put in stocks for your faith, but I pray that you will have the faith to stand firm. Are you ready? His word should be a burning fire inside, waiting to come out.

Prayer: Father, help us to be equipped for the battle, Lord. We are warriors for Christ in an epic battle that You have already won. Help us to walk, talk, and fight from a place of victory, proclaiming the promises of Your word every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.