Thursday
O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. (v. 7)
Background
Have you ever been at the end of your tether and felt you needed to blame God for all the misfortunes in your life? Well, here we find Jeremiah doing just that. He had been assaulted and put in the stocks by the deeply unpleasant Pashur the priest. In return Jeremiah had delivered a damning prophesy to him (vs 1-6). He is now ready for some straight-talking with God.
Jeremiah accuses God of deceiving him and overpowering him so he had no choice but to speak God’s words which are now gaining him nothing but derision and contempt (v. 8). However, if he were to stop, he says: "Then within me is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in and I cannot." (v 9)
Jeremiah is stuck between a rock and a hard place. When that happens, the only option is to cry out to God and say exactly how you feel. Knowing how you're feeling anyway, God is unlikely to be shocked!
We might feel we have to suppress negative thoughts when talking to God. While focusing on God’s goodness and blessings is to be encouraged, Jeremiah knows God well enough to be honest. And after a good moan, Jeremiah’s faith is restored and he is able to say with confidence: "But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior, therefore my persecutors will stumble." (v. 11)
Jeremiah’s ministry is a tough one. His message is one of judgement and destruction for the people of Judah and in delivering it, Jeremiah is to experience pain and suffering himself. Yet for him and the people to whom he prophesies, there is always the hope of God’s forgiveness and deliverance: "Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers." (v 13)
To Ponder:
- Can you think of a time when you’ve been at the end of your tether and cried out to God in anger? How did you feel afterwards?
- Jeremiah accuses God of being a ‘deceiver’. How do you deal with negative thoughts about God that might come into your mind?
- Describe a time when you cried out to God in anger, then later ended up praising God?
Prayer
Loving God, help me to be honest with you when times are tough and give me the confidence to let you know how I really feel. Amen.