Subscribe to Every Post:Jeremiah’s Story
I have been studying the prophet Jeremiah this week. Now here’s a guy who brings new meaning to the word, “perseverance.” God calls him to speak on his behalf to the Israelites in the southern kingdom, Judah. The only problem is that no matter how faithful Jeremiah is to God, it will not matter in the end. The people will not heed the warning and turn back to God.
There are so many promises in the Bible that tell us that if we are faithful to God, he will bless us, and he will bring fruit to our labor. This is usually how God works. Not for Jeremiah, though. His faithfulness brought ridicule, threats, and a great deal of pain – not to mention, no one ever heeded his warning.
What do you do when you try to be faithful to God in every way, and yet trouble and heartache seem to be the consequence? What do you do when you spend years parenting your children in a godly way, and then they grow up not living for God? What do you do when you try to be the best spouse you can, and it only brings more pain? What do you do when you pray for someone to believe in Jesus for years and years, pursuing every opportunity, and they only get farther away? What do you do when you try to be the very best employee possible, and there is never any hint of reward or appreciation?
It is difficult enough to be faithful to God when it brings blessing, but how difficult is it when you see no fruit and no blessing to your effort? Jeremiah was faithful for over 40 years, and he never saw any fruit. He knew deep inside that faithfulness will reap a reward eventually, if not in this life, certainly in the life to come, but it was a deep struggle. He was faithful, but it was not easy. I wonder what kind of reward he earned when he entered eternity?
We can learn much from Jeremiah. What is an area of your life where Jeremiah’s story is teaching you right now?