Jeremiah is an interesting book. Some find it confusing and hard to get through. While Jeremiah’s prophecies are often hard to understand, there is much in this book that we can take and apply to everyday life.
Jeremiah, according to the world’s standards, was a complete failure in his ministry. During the reign of the last few wicked kings of Judah, God told Jeremiah to prophecy of the coming destruction of Jerusalem, calling Judah to repent, while false prophets, mediums and sorcerers prophesied peace and prosperity in the Lord’s name. Jeremiah obeyed God, stood up in public and gave Israel God’s messages. He was put on trial, put in stock, suffered persecution from false prophets, the men from his hometown plotted to assassinate him, and he was imprisoned by King Zedekiah as well (Jeremiah 11, 21, 28, 32). Even after all his work, Judah still went into Babylonian captivity and Jerusalem, along with the Temple, were destroyed. It is really no wonder Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet”, but even when things got hard, Jeremiah didn’t stop.
While there are many things we can learn from Jeremiah, I’m going to focus on this one. Jeremiah went through a lot of persecution. Did he question God? Absolutely. Did he ever stop trusting God? Never. Jeremiah lived during a time much like the one we’re living in. The world was corrupted with evil, God’s punishment was on the doorstep so to speak, and a couple of God’s prophets, including Jeremiah, were preaching a message of repentance. Likewise, in a world constantly growing darker, we preach a message of repentance and forgiveness of sin and, like Jeremiah, we are persecuted for it.
When we are persecuted, it is easy to become discouraged. So the question is: how do we continue the Lord’s work even in the face of persecution? Well, we can take much from the words of Christ: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Here we are clearly told that although for a moment we may face persecution, the battle has already been won. We are victorious. James 1:2-3 says to “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” Peter says in 1 Peter 4:13, “rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” Paul, in Colossians 1:24, says, “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.” Jesus said in John 15:20, “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”
When we fall into trials, it is so that we may partake in Christ’s sufferings. Becoming a Christian means we are going to be persecuted for our faith, but we can have joy in our trials, because not only does it produce patience for today, it also prepares us for eternal glory with Christ.
To all the children of God let’s, like Jeremiah, continue to give our message to the world. And to the world I say bring it on.
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