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Fitness trainingFriday, April 3, 2009
Jeremiah 20:11-13
Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked!
He was not killed, however. God protected him and continued to speak through him. When he prayed for his people, God told him to stop. But finally Jeremiah was able to share a blessing. In the most beautiful passage of this book, he shares the words of God to the exiles in Babylon: "I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 29:11-14). God was determined to break the will of his chosen people and turn them back toward Himself, but he was just as determined not to kill their spirit. God is the best of all at not throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Without my own battles with God, perhaps I could never find the strength he made for me. As we wrestle I learn slowly but surely to wear the garment of praise He has sewn to cover up my shame, and to trust every moment of every day only to him. Which way, Lord do I turn to escape from you? There is no way, I know. You will have your way with me. Thank you for putting up with me and never letting go. |
In my Bible this is called "Jeremiah's complaint." He sounds like a bitter, unforgiving old man ... which perhaps he was. In the next few verses he moans about even having been born. Nevertheless God filled Jeremiah's mind and mouth with the promise of disaster and exile for the Jews. Because of his words Jeremiah became a pariah and was nearly killed more than once.